To examine if microplastics (less than 5 millimeters in diameter)are harmful to small marine organisms,scientists exposed marine copepods to either their normal diet of algae or a diet of algae with plastic microbeads added.What would be the dependent variable in this study?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The dependent variable in this study would be the presence of plastic microbeads in the diet. This is the factor that the scientists are manipulating to see if it has an effect on the copepods. They are trying to determine if plastic microbeads are harmful to small marine organisms, so their presence in the diet would be the dependent variable that they are measuring. The other factors listed (species of copepod, algae in the diet, size of microbeads, and number of copepods) are all independent variables that may have an effect on the copepods, but they are not the variable that is being measured in this study.

To Examine If Microplastics (Less Than 5 Millimeters in Diameter)are