If the bat is captured during the day proceed to step 5. If the bat is captured at night and does not appear to be a baby bat, proceed to step 3. Important note!: Do not place the bat in a bird cage or container with small openings. Bats are very intelligent and can easily squeeze through a 1/4 x 1/2 inch crack.
These changing quantities are called variables. A variable is any factor, trait, or condition that can exist in differing amounts or types. An experiment usually has three kinds of variables: independent, dependent, and controlled. The independent variable is the one that is changed by the scientist. To ensure a fair test, a good experiment has only one independent variable. As the scientist changes the independent variable, he or she observes what happens.
Consider a variable that records apersonâs sex. Examined one way, it is a categorical variable. A categorical variable identiï¬es thegroup to which a thing belongs, and here the thing is a person and the basis for categorization isanatomy. Looked at another way, however, it is an indicator variable.