因变量是在科学实验中测试和测量的变量。它有时被称为响应变量。自变量是光量，而蛾的反应是因变量。自变量（光量）的变化直接导致因变量（蛾行为）的变化。因变量取决于自变量。当实验者改变自变量时，观察并记录因变量的变化。例如，科学家通过打开和关闭灯来测试光照和黑暗对飞蛾行为的影响。因变量的另一个例子是测试分数。你在考试中得分的程度取决于其他变量，例如你学习了多少，你有多少睡眠，你是否吃过早餐等等。一般而言，如果您正在研究因子或结果的影响，则效果或结果是因变量。如果测量温度对花色的影响，温度是自变量或您控制的温度，而花的颜色是因变量。如果依赖变量和自变量绘制在图形上，则x轴将是自变量，y轴将是因变量。例如，如果您检查睡眠对测试分数的影响，则睡眠小时数将在x轴上，而测试分数将记录在图形的y轴上。
A dependent variable is the variable being tested and measured in a scientific experiment. It is sometimes called the responding variable. The independent variable is the amount of light and the moth’s reaction is the dependent variable. A change in the independent variable (amount of light) directly causes a change in the dependent variable (moth behavior). The dependent variable depends on the independent variable. As the experimenter changes the independent variable, the change in the dependent variable is observed and recorded. For example, a scientist is testing the effect of light and dark on the behavior of moths by turning a light on and off. Another example of a dependent variable is a test score. How well you score on a test depends on other variables, such as how much you studied, the amount of sleep you had, whether you had breakfast and so on. In general, if you are studying the effect of a factor or the outcome, the effect or outcome is the dependent variable. If you measure the effect of temperature on flower color, temperature is the independent variable or the one you control, while the color of the flower is the dependent variable. If the dependent and independent variables are plotted on a graph, the x-axis would be the independent variable and the y-axis would be the dependent variable. For example, if you examine the effect of sleep on test score, the number of hours of sleep would be on the x-axis, while the test scores would be recorded on the y-axis of a graph.