What is an independent and dependent variable. This is confusing me

independent variable is x and dependent variable is y. the y-variable is dependent on the x-variable for its answer

What does the t stand for and why do we have to put it in our answer

T does not have to stand for anything, yet T stands for Time in months Sal says so at 0:30 and we have to put it in the answer because otherwise we are just giving a number with no place where it goes.

is your distance from home is independent variable or dependent variable, please help!

Independent because the distance from your home doesn't change

Can someone describe dependent and independent variables more clearly to me? I think I get the gist, but if I stop thinking about it I forget.

The dependent variable (most commonly y) depends on the independent variable (most commonly x). You can put in a value for the independent variable (input) to get out a value for the dependent variable (output), so the y= form of an equation is the most common way of expressing a independent/dependent relationship. In many real world situations, your logical part of brain will correctly identify the dependent variable (does ice cream sales depend on the weather, or does the weather depend on ice cream sales? does the dog running away depend on the gate being open, or does the gate being open depend on the dog running away?). In real world equations particularly in Science, any of the variables can be dependent such as if v = d/t, then d = v t, and t = d/v, if two are given, I can solve for the third (velocity is distance divided by time).

Can a variable be another variable?

A single quantity should be represented by only one variable, so you should not have two different variables used for the same thing. So if a question talks about finding Andy's age, you cannot use a and x both to represent the same thing. However, any variable can be named whatever you like so you can define a variable with any letter you want. You could also have two variables that are equal to each other such as y = x (linear parent function), but they are still two variables - one independent and one dependent, not just one variable which has a specific plot on a Cartesian plane. If you are asking can you use other variables besides x and y to represent quantities, then yes you can define variables any way you want.

Main content

Algebra (all content)

Course: Algebra (all content) > Unit 1

Lesson 7: Dependent & independent variables

Dependent & independent variables: equation

Name: Dependent & independent variables: equation
Uploaded: 2013-07-15T19:15:42Z
Description: We're flipping the last video on its head and doing the opposite. This time we give you the graph and ask you to express it as an equation.

Google Classroom

We're flipping the last video on its head and doing the opposite. This time we give you the graph and ask you to express it as an equation. Created by Sal Khan.

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meganzach
Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to meganzach's post “What is an independent an...”
What is an independent and dependent variable. This is confusing me
Button navigates to signup pageComment on meganzach's post “What is an independent an...”
(17 votes)
Answer
- Austinlin12345
  Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to Austinlin12345's post “independent variable is x...”
  independent variable is x and dependent variable is y. the y-variable is dependent on the x-variable for its answer
  Comment on Austinlin12345's post “independent variable is x...”
  (13 votes)
Kaitlyn
Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to Kaitlyn's post “What does the t stand for...”
What does the t stand for and why do we have to put it in our answer
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(5 votes)
Answer
- 𝕎𝕙i̶τε 𝕎øℓƒ
  Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to 𝕎𝕙i̶τε 𝕎øℓƒ's post “T does not have to stand ...”
  T does not have to stand for anything, yet T stands for Time in months Sal says so at
  0:30
  and we have to put it in the answer because otherwise we are just giving a number with no place where it goes.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (6 votes)
Quinn Dang
Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Quinn Dang's post “Can someone describe depe...”
Can someone describe dependent and independent variables more clearly to me?

I think I get the gist, but if I stop thinking about it I forget.
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(2 votes)
Answer
- David Severin
  Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to David Severin's post “The dependent variable (m...”
  The dependent variable (most commonly y) depends on the independent variable (most commonly x). You can put in a value for the independent variable (input) to get out a value for the dependent variable (output), so the y= form of an equation is the most common way of expressing a independent/dependent relationship. In many real world situations, your logical part of brain will correctly identify the dependent variable (does ice cream sales depend on the weather, or does the weather depend on ice cream sales? does the dog running away depend on the gate being open, or does the gate being open depend on the dog running away?).
  In real world equations particularly in Science, any of the variables can be dependent such as if v = d/t, then d = v t, and t = d/v, if two are given, I can solve for the third (velocity is distance divided by time).
  Button navigates to signup page
  (6 votes)
Joshua Perez
Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to Joshua Perez's post “is your distance from hom...”
is your distance from home is independent variable or dependent variable, please help!
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(3 votes)
Answer
- Krish Singh
  Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to Krish Singh's post “Independent because the d...”
  Independent because the distance from your home doesn't change
  Button navigates to signup page
  (4 votes)
Mary Simonson
Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to Mary Simonson's post “In the name of this secti...”
In the name of this section it says it is inequalities, but this is not what I am doing in class, where do I find inequalities as in on a number line with the < and > symbols?
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(5 votes)
Answer
Kevin
Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Kevin's post “Can a variable be another...”
Can a variable be another variable?
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(2 votes)
Answer
- David Severin
  Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to David Severin's post “A single quantity should ...”
  A single quantity should be represented by only one variable, so you should not have two different variables used for the same thing. So if a question talks about finding Andy's age, you cannot use a and x both to represent the same thing. However, any variable can be named whatever you like so you can define a variable with any letter you want. You could also have two variables that are equal to each other such as y = x (linear parent function), but they are still two variables - one independent and one dependent, not just one variable which has a specific plot on a Cartesian plane.
  If you are asking can you use other variables besides x and y to represent quantities, then yes you can define variables any way you want.
  Comment on David Severin's post “A single quantity should ...”
  (5 votes)
kberry
Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to kberry's post “I dont know how to do Alg...”
I dont know how to do Algebra 1
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(2 votes)
Answer
Edris Kakar
Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to Edris Kakar's post “Does it have to be in a s...”
Does it have to be in a straight line?Also what does it mean if the line is not straight.
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Edris Kakar's post “Does it have to be in a s...”
(1 vote)
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- ethaniel.dry
  Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to ethaniel.dry's post “it doesnt really matter i...”
  it doesnt really matter if the line is straight or not
  Button navigates to signup page
  (1 vote)
03amaigari
Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to 03amaigari's post “what the difference betwe...”
what the difference between dependent and independent variable
Button navigates to signup pageComment on 03amaigari's post “what the difference betwe...”
(3 votes)
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- unrealistic expectations
  Posted 2 years ago. Direct link to unrealistic expectations's post “a dependant variable is a...”
  a dependant variable is a variable that depends on another number. 3x is a dependant variable becase it has a number that you are aplying it to. x is a independant varyable becase it isnt being aplied to a number.
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  (1 vote)
revany
Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to revany's post “This video doesn't have a...”
This video doesn't have anything to do with my question: https://www.khanacademy.org/mission/algebra/task/5594277661671424
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(3 votes)
Answer

Video transcript

Let's see. We have this graph over here with t is the independent variable on the horizontal axis and d is the dependent variable on the vertical axis. And then they have a table here. Looks like this table corresponds to this graph. When t equals 1, d is 40, when t is equal to 2, d is 80. So these points correspond to points on this line. And then they explain to us, you are buying a gym membership. The membership costs $40 per month. In the graph and table above, d is the total number of dollars that you pay for your gym membership, so that's d right over there, and t is the time in months that you keep the membership. Write an equation for the amount of money d that you pay for your gym membership, if you keep the membership for t months. And you see that here. If you're one month, you pay $40, two months you pay another $40, you pay $80. You see that in the graph right over here. If you have 0 months, you pay nothing. Then one month, $40, the next month another $40 getting you to $80. So if I were to write this as an equation, the dependent variable here is the amount that I pay in dollars. So that is going to depend on the time. And how is it going to depend on the time in months? Well I'm going to pay $40 per month times the number of months. So I can either write it as 40 with a little asterisk sign, which is Shift 8-- and then I put t there-- or I could literally put just a t right over there. And I think that's right, because if my time is 0 according to this table and according to this graph, I pay nothing. If there was some initial membership charge then maybe we would add that membership charge and you would pay the monthly fee after that. But here this looks about right, that the dollars paid is equal to 40 times the time in months. The time in months is the independent variable. It drives the dependent variable, the number of dollars you pay.