What is the manipulated variable?

The manipulated variable, also known as the independent variable, is the variable that is intentionally changed or manipulated by the experimenter in a scientific experiment. The purpose of manipulating the variable is to observe how changes in this variable affect the dependent variable, which is the variable being measured in the experiment.

For example, in a study investigating the effect of temperature on plant growth, the manipulated variable would be the temperature. The experimenter would change the temperature of the environment in which the plants are growing and observe how this change affects the growth of the plants.

Manipulating the variable allows researchers to test hypotheses and determine cause-and-effect relationships between variables. It is important for the manipulated variable to be controlled carefully in an experiment to ensure that any changes in the dependent variable are indeed caused by changes in the manipulated variable and not by any other factors.