A small apple orchard hires fruit pickers to harvest their crop. The number of apples harvested each day depends on the number of fruit pickers hired. $\newline$ $f =$ the number of fruit pickers hired $\newline$ $a =$ the number of apples harvested each day $\newline$ Which of the variables is independent and which is dependent? $\newline$ Choices: $\newline$ (A) $a$ is the independent variable and $f$ is the dependent variable $\newline$ (B) $f$ is the independent variable and $a$ is the dependent variable

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Algebra 1

Identify independent and dependent variables

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Q. A small apple orchard hires fruit pickers to harvest their crop. The number of apples harvested each day depends on the number of fruit pickers hired.

\newline

f =

the number of fruit pickers hired

\newline

a =

the number of apples harvested each day

\newline

Which of the variables is independent and which is dependent?

\newline

Choices:

\newline

(A)

a

is the independent variable and

f

is the dependent variable

\newline

(B)

f

is the independent variable and

a

is the dependent variable

Define Relationship: Determine the relationship between the number of fruit pickers hired $f$ and the number of apples harvested $a$ . Since the number of apples that can be harvested each day is likely to increase with the number of fruit pickers, the number of fruit pickers hired is the cause and the number of apples harvested is the effect.
Identify Independent Variable: Identify the independent variable. The independent variable is the one that is changed or controlled in a scientific experiment to test the effects on the dependent variable. In this case, the number of fruit pickers hired $f$ is the variable that is controlled by the orchard, and it influences the outcome, which is the number of apples harvested $a$ . Therefore, $f$ is the independent variable.
Identify Dependent Variable: Identify the dependent variable. The dependent variable is the one that is tested and measured in a scientific experiment. The number of apples harvested $a$ depends on the number of fruit pickers $f$ , so $a$ is the dependent variable.
Choose Correct Answer: Choose the correct answer choice based on the identification of independent and dependent variables. Since $f$ is the independent variable and $a$ is the dependent variable, the correct choice is (B) $f$ is the independent variable and $a$ is the dependent variable.