Which is the independent or dependent variable?

You're in a corn maze and as you move along you stumble upon u-turns. As you continue in the maze you encounter more u-turns and time is wasting.



I want to know which one is the dependent and independent variable.

From these perspectives I came upon:

- Time affects the U-Turns

- U-Turns affect the Time



I think it's the latter--that the the u-turns respectively affects the time, but the longer you are in the maze (time), the more likely you are to make u-turns.



I'm confused. Help.Which is the independent or dependent variable?
You first need to understand the definition of "independent" and "dependent" variables.

The independent variable (IV) is what u fixed in ur experiment or problem.

The dependent variable (DV) is what u measure or record as u do ur experiment or solve ur problem.

In ur given situation, if u want to know how long it takes to pass through 6 U-turns,then the no of U turns is the IV and the time is DV.

However, if you want to know how many U turns u encounter if u are to walk in the maze for 20min, then the 20min is the IV and the no of U turns is the DV.
time would depend on the number of uturnsWhich is the independent or dependent variable?
1) dependent variable: time taken/wasted because time is dependent upon the number of U-turns encountered (e.g. more U-turns encountered, more time taken and less U-turns encountered, less time taken)



independent variable: number of U-turns encountered because the number of U-turns is not dependent upon time (e.g. as time passes, the number of U-turns is not affected if you remain stationary)Which is the independent or dependent variable?
You're right, it is the latter. For example you could spend tons of time in the maze without having to make a single uturn. You could jut sit there not moving forever. However to make even one uturn, you spend some time. You see?
Depends on what you are measuring. If you are measuring (if you were trying to know) how long it would take to get through the maze, you would find that the time until completion varied as the number of U-turns encountered. This would be the typical way of looking at the experiment. That is, one normally would be looking at how time spent in the maze is a function of the number of uturns that can be encountered. Time spent has a pretty direct relationship to the number of uturns.



However, if you were concerned with how many uturns you encountered, you would find that the number of turns would be dependant on the time spent in the maze, all other things being equal. However, time spent can vary according to another of different factors as well, so the number of uturns encountered may be only weakly affected by the time spent.



Multivariate equations tend to have dependance according to how the equation (the relationship) is set up. All values depend on each other until you choose to control one of them.



The independant variable is the one YOU choose to change. You then see how that change of your choosing alters the result (the dependant variable).



In your example, one normally considers the number of turns in the maze as the independant variable - the maze is constructed by you (or by someone) with a number of u-turns, perhaps even different possible solution paths with different numbers of uturns. The time it takes to completion is a function of the number of turns that have been placed on the chosen path.



On the other hand, you could look at it by deciding to measure the number of turns encountered after given periods of time in the maze, say 30 seconds, one minute, two minutes, etc. In this case, YOU are choosing the time (the independant variable), and the number of uturns that are encountered (the dependant variable) will depend on the amount of time you have chosen.



So it depends on what you want to measure.