Scientific Variables

Scientific Variables

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of variables and to provide a deep insight into the nature of scientific variables, on the basis of which these scientific variable are categorized into various types. The paper presents the way in which variables are described and are employed in scientific experiments, yielding different results. Dependent, independent, controlled, quantitative, categorical, ordered, discrete, and continuous variables are illustrated after being defined. Also, certain examples are provided for the different types of variables used in the scientific experiments.

Scientific Variables

A variable is referred to any factor which may be controlled or changed. A variable, in mathematics, is referred to any quantity which may presume any value from a pool of given values. A scientific variable, in comparison with a simple variable, is a bit complex. There are basically three distinct sorts of scientific variables; dependent variables, independent variables, and controlled variables (Mendenhall, et.al, 2012). Scientific variables are allied to the scientific method. Variables, in science, are actually referred to as the things which may be measured and controlled as part of a scientific experiment. The three main sorts of scientific experiments are defined and illustrated as under:

Controlled Variables

Controlled variables, as evident by the name, are such factors that are held constant or are controlled all through an experiment or an investigation. Controlled variables are held unvarying so that they would not have any impact on the results of an experiment by varying. Nevertheless, there is indeed an impact of the controlled variables on the outcomes of the experiment. For instance, let us consider the case when it is measured through an experiment if there is a better growth of plants when they are watered with water or when they are watered with milk. In this experiment, one of the controlled variables may be the amount of light that is provided to and received by the plants. Despite the fact that the value might be kept constant all through the experiment, it is imperative to take into consideration the condition and nature of this variable. The probable expectation from this experiment would be that the plant will grow in a different way in darkness, compared to that in the sunlight (Harris, 2000).

Independent Variable

An independent variable is referred to as the factor that is deliberately varied while carrying out an experiment. For instance, let us consider an experiment that identifies if the growth of a plant is impacted by having it watered with milk or with water. In this case, the substance which is employed for watering the plants would be marked as the independent variable. Independent variables are those variables which changed by the person conducting the experiment for the order of testing their dependent variables. For instance, let us consider that a scientist is testing and analyzing the impact of darkness and light on the behavior of moths by switching a light off and on, the amount of light that the moths are exposed to, in this experiment, would ...