Question

question 4 of 20 :
select the best answer for the question.

1. in an experiment, overweight mice are put on an exercise wheel every day for an hour. the scientist is exploring whether running in the morning, afternoon, or night leads to the greatest weight loss. the caloric intake of the mice remains the same. whats the dependent variable in this experiment?

a. the caloric intake of the mice
b. the weight loss of the mice
c. the size of the exercise wheel
d. the time of day that the mice ran
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Explanation:

To determine the dependent variable, we recall that the dependent variable is the outcome being measured or observed, which depends on the independent variable. In this experiment, the independent variable is the time of day the mice run (morning, afternoon, night). The scientist is exploring how this time affects weight loss.

• Option A: The caloric intake is kept constant, so it's a controlled variable, not dependent.
• Option B: Weight loss is what's being measured to see how it's affected by the time of running, so it's the dependent variable.
• Option C: The size of the exercise wheel is not related to the outcome being studied (weight loss based on time of running), so it's not the dependent variable.
• Option D: The time of day is the independent variable (the factor being manipulated to see its effect).

Answer:

B. The weight loss of the mice