Maria designs a test to see if lemon trees that receive more water produce larger lemons. Independent Variable - Dependent Variable -

Answer: In Maria's experiment, the independent variable is the amount of water that the lemon trees receive. This is because the independent variable is what the experimenter (in this case, Maria) changes or manipulates in order to observe its effects on another variable.

The dependent variable is the size of the lemons produced by the trees. This is the variable that is observed and measured to see how it changes in response to manipulations of the independent variable (the water given to the trees).

Extra: Understanding the relationship between independent and dependent variables is a fundamental concept in scientific experiments. The independent variable is the one that is intentionally changed or controlled by the researcher to test its effects on the dependent variable, which is the outcome or response that is measured. The dependent variable is "dependent" because its values depend on the changes made to the independent variable.

It's also important to control for other variables that might affect the dependent variable, which are called control variables. In Maria's case, control variables might include the amount of sunlight the lemon trees get, the type of soil they're planted in, the temperature, and other care they receive such as fertilization—all these should be kept consistent to ensure that any difference in lemon size is most likely due to the amount of water they receive, and not some other factor.