Does the independent variable really change independently of the other variable? - Answers

The relationship is a matter of cause and effect. An independent variable is given as one upon which another variable depends. So, for example, if you heat a metal pipe, the pipe expands. The amount of expansion is dependent upon the amount of heating that occurs, so expansion is the dependent variable, and the heating, which you may or may not control, is the independent variable. All it means is that if the independent variable ungoes a change, there is an associated and predictable change in the dependent variable. The two are linked inextricably, but one is cause, the other is effect, or to put it another way, you control the change in the dependent variable with input into the independent variable, but it doesn't normally work the other way around.