How are control and experimental groups related to the independent and dependent variables?

1 Answer
Sep 22, 2016

Refer to the explanation.

Explanation:

The control group is not affected by the independent variable (often called the experimental variable). It's purpose is for comparison between the control and experimental groups.

The experimental group is affected by the independent variable. For example, you have a control group and an experimental group. You are studying the effect of fertilizer on the number of blooms on rose bushes.

The control group is treated exactly the same as the experimental group, but only the experimental group receives the fertilizer. The dependent variable is what is measured in the experiment. In this case, you are going to record the number of blooms in each group of rose bushes.

If you graph your results, the independent variable goes on the x-axis and the dependent variable goes on the y-axis.