An experiment must be fair to get accurate results. To ensure our experiments are fair we use the scientific method. In the scientific method are six steps that are listed below;
How to make sure we have a fair test?
To make sure your experiment is fair you must make sure you have a dependent, independent and control variable. These are called the variables of the experiment.
Independent variable: what you change in the experiment.
Dependent variable: what happens because you changed the independent variable.
Control variable: what you do not change in the experiment.
For example, you want to test whether golden retriever, a german shepherd or a labrador is faster by making them run a 100m race and timing them. What are the variables of this experiment?
Independent variable: We change the dog breed from a golden retriever to a german shepherd to a labrador
Dependent variable: How long it takes each dog to finish the race because it is dependant on the dogs breed.
Control variable: We do not change how far each dog runs to make sure they all run 100m.
