Question

scientific method scenarios
a shopping mall wanted to determine whether the more expensive - \tough stuff\ - floor wax was as protecting to floor tiles against scratches as the cheaper - \steel seal\ - floor wax at protecting its floor tiles against scratches.
one drop of each brand of floor wax was applied to each of 5 test sections of the floor. the sections were all the same size and were covered with the same kind of floor tiles.
one (1) other test sections received no wax.
each week for 3 weeks, the number of scratches in each of the test sections was counted.

1. what is the independent variable in this experiment?
2. state the problem
3. what hypothesis the mall might have made before starting the experiment.
4. what is the data that is being collected in this experiment?
5. looking at the results, what conclusion can be made about the 2 different types of floor waxes?
6. why did the shopping mall have experimental set-ups (with wax) and a control (no wax)?
7. why did the shopping mall put each type of wax on 5 different sections of floor tile?
8. was this a valid experiment? why or why not?

Explanation:

The problem is about a scientific experiment (testing floor waxes) and identifying the independent variable. In an experiment, the independent variable is what's manipulated. Here, the different types of floor wax (Touch Stuff, Steel Seal, No Wax) are manipulated to see their effect on scratches. So the independent variable is the type of floor wax used.

Answer:

The independent variable is the type of floor wax (Touch Stuff, Steel Seal, No Wax) used.