Levels of an independent variable (Practice Set)

1. Practice Problems
Differentiating Between
Three or More
Levels
Two Levels

2. Problem #1

3. Some of your fellow school counselors feel that students who
request to be in the same lunch period as their friends tend to
perform worse academically. You collect the names of a sample
of students who make this request and a sample of students who
don’t make the request and then take an average of their GPAs
to determine which group performs better.
How many levels of the independent variable are therein this
problem?
Advance the slide to see the options

4. Some of your fellow school counselors feel that students who
request to be in the same lunch period as their friends tend to
perform worse academically. You collect the names of a sample
of students who make this request and a sample of students who
don’t make the request and then take an average of their GPAs
to determine which group performs better.
How many levels of the independent variable are therein this
problem?
Which is it?
Advance the slide to see the answer
Three or More
Levels
Two Levels

5. Some of your fellow school counselors feel that students who
request to be in the same lunch period as their friends tend to
perform worse academically. You collect the names of a sample
of students who make this request and a sample of students who
don’t make the request and then take an average of their GPAs
to determine which group performs better.
How many levels of the independent variable are therein this
problem?
Which is it?
Advance the slide to see the explanation
Three or More
Levels
Two Levels

6. Some of your fellow school counselors feel that students who
request to be in the same lunch period as their friends tend to
perform worse academically. You collect the names of a sample
of students who make this request and a sample of students who
don’t make the request and then take an average of their GPAs
to determine which group performs better.
How many levels of the independent variable are therein this
problem?
Which is it?
Advance the slide to see the explanation
Three or More
Levels
Two Levels
Explanation
The Independent Variable could be called “Lunch Request Status” with two
levels: (1) Those who requested to be with their friends and (2) those who
did not.

7. Some of your fellow school counselors feel that students who
request to be in the same lunch period as their friends tend to
perform worse academically. You collect the names of a sample
of students who make this request and a sample of students who
don’t make the request and then take an average of their GPAs
to determine which group performs better.
How many levels of the independent variable are therein this
problem?
Which is it?
Advance the slide to see the explanation
Three or More
Levels
Two Levels
1st level
2nd Level
Explanation
The Independent Variable could be called “Lunch Request Status” with two
levels: (1) Those who requested to be with their friends and (2) those who
did not.

8. Problem #2

9. Advance the slide to see the options
You just overheard a discussion among students in which
they said that atheists suffer from depression more because
they don’t believe in God. You are skeptical of this claim and
set out to prove that one’s belief in God is not connected
with levels of depression.
How many levels of the independent variable are therein
this problem?

10. Advance the slide to see the answer
Which is it?
Three or More
Levels
Two Levels
You just overheard a discussion among students in which
they said that atheists suffer from depression more because
they don’t believe in God. You are skeptical of this claim and
set out to prove that one’s belief in God is not connected
with levels of depression.
How many levels of the independent variable are therein
this problem?

11. Advance the slide to see the explanation
Which is it?
Three or More
Levels
Two Levels
You just overheard a discussion among students in which
they said that atheists suffer from depression more because
they don’t believe in God. You are skeptical of this claim and
set out to prove that one’s belief in God is not connected
with levels of depression.
How many levels of the independent variable are therein
this problem?

12. Advance the slide to see the next problem
Which is it?
Three or More
Levels
Two Levels
Explanation
The independent variable could be “belief in God status” with two levels:
The (1) presence or (2) absence of a belief in God.
You just overheard a discussion among students in which
they said that atheists suffer from depression more because
they don’t believe in God. You are skeptical of this claim and
set out to prove that one’s belief in God is not connected
with levels of depression.
How many levels of the independent variable are therein
this problem?
Belief / Unbelief = 2 levels

13. Problem #3

14. Advance the slide to see the options
Lately you have had several younger high school students talk to you
about having suicidal thoughts. You have a hunch that such thoughts
differ across grades (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors)
How many levels of the independent variable are therein this
problem?

15. Advance the slide to see the answer
Lately you have had several younger high school students talk to you
about having suicidal thoughts. You have a hunch that such thoughts
differ across grades (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors)
How many levels of the independent variable are therein this
problem?
Which is it?
Three or More
Levels
Two Levels

16. Advance the slide to see the explanation
Lately you have had several younger high school students talk to you
about having suicidal thoughts. You have a hunch that such thoughts
differ across grades (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors)
How many levels of the independent variable are therein this
problem?
Which is it?
Three or
More Levels
Two Levels

17. Advance the slide to see the next problem
Lately you have had several younger high school students talk to you
about having suicidal thoughts. You have a hunch that such thoughts
differ across grades (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors)
How many levels of the independent variable are therein this
problem?
Which is it?
Three or
More Levels
Two Levels
Explanation
The independent variable (grade in school) has four levels (freshmen,
sophomores, juniors, and seniors).

18. Problem #4

19. It is time for graduating seniors to begin applying for college and
you want to know if acceptance rates differ across gender. You
compare the average acceptance rates for males and females to
see if there is a difference?
How many levels of the independent variable are therein this
problem?
Advance the slide to see the options

20. It is time for graduating seniors to begin applying for college and
you want to know if acceptance rates differ across gender. You
compare the average acceptance rates for males and females to
see if there is a difference?
How many levels of the independent variable are therein this
problem?
Advance the slide to see the answer
Three or More
Levels
Two Levels
Which is it?

21. It is time for graduating seniors to begin applying for college and
you want to know if acceptance rates differ across gender. You
compare the average acceptance rates for males and females to
see if there is a difference?
How many levels of the independent variable are therein this
problem?
Advance the slide to see the explanation
Three or
More Levels
Two Levels
Which is it?

22. It is time for graduating seniors to begin applying for college and
you want to know if acceptance rates differ across gender. You
compare the average acceptance rates for males and females to
see if there is a difference?
How many levels of the independent variable are therein this
problem?
Explanation
The independent variable is gender with two levels: males & females
The End
Three or
More Levels
Two Levels
Which is it?