Question

microwave miracle patrick believes that fish that eat food exposed to microwaves will become smarter and would be able to swim through a maze faster. he decides to perform an experiment by placing fish food in a microwave for 20 seconds. he has the fish swim through a maze and records the time it takes for each one to make it to the end. he feeds the special food to 10 fish and gives regular food to 10 others. after 1 week he has the fish swim through the maze again and records the times for each. what question was patrick trying to answer? food exposure to microwaves what is the independent variable? time for fish to swim through maze what is the dependent variable? numbers of fish, maze, time interval between trials what variables are constant? blank image of patrick

Explanation:

1. What question was Patrick trying to answer?

Patrick's experiment involves fish eating microwaved food and their maze - swimming speed. He wants to know if microwaved - food - eating fish are smarter (faster at maze - swimming). So the question is about whether food exposed to microwaves affects a fish's ability to swim through a maze (or makes them smarter for maze - swimming).

The independent variable is the factor that is manipulated. Here, Patrick manipulates whether the fish food is exposed to microwaves (20 seconds) or not (regular food). So the independent variable is food exposure to microwaves.

The dependent variable is the outcome that is measured. Patrick measures the time it takes for the fish to swim through the maze. This time depends on the food (microwaved or not) given to the fish. So the dependent variable is the time for fish to swim through the maze.

Answer:

Does food exposed to microwaves make fish smarter (able to swim through a maze faster)?

2. What is the independent variable?