Independent Variable:

• Our Independent Variable for our project was the sizes of holes in the plastic skirt. We changed the sizes of holes in the plastic and time how fast it can travel 26 feet.

 Dependent Variable:

• The dependent variable is how fast the hovercraft will go. The dependent variable will change due to changes in the independent variable. The dependent variable is what we are trying to see which will work the best.

Controlled Variables:

• The type of floor will affect the speed of the hovercraft because if the floor was really bumpy them the hovercraft would leak air out of the plastic skirt and not be able to hover as good.
• The size of person is another controlled variable. If the weight changes much the speed will change also. If there is too much weight our blower will not be able to lift the hovercraft off the surface and that will also affect the speed.
• Where the person sits on the hovercraft is another controlled variable. The rider must be sitting in the center of the hovercraft. If the rider sits too far to one side then the hovercraft will tilt and air may be able to escape out the other side. If a person sits too far to the front or back the hovercraft will “dig in” or drag.
• Size of leaf blowers is one more controlled variable. Different leaf blowers blow different amounts of air. If we switched leaf blowers in the middle of our experiment then it would change how much the bottom inflates which will change our results. If we changed the blower on the back it will affect the movement forward, and change the results.
• The last controlled variable is one of the most important, which is using the same hovercraft. If we changed hovercrafts in the middle of the experiment then it would change all our results because different sizes of hovercrafts go different speeds.

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