I'm not sure this belongs here, but I found this website that has a helpful hint about remembering the difference between independent and dependent variables. I could never remember the difference before I read this; now it makes sense: (Independent variable) causes a change in (Dependent Variable) and it isn't possible that (Dependent Variable) could cause a change in (Independent Variable). For example: (Time Spent Studying) causes a change in (Test Score) and it isn't possible that (Test Score) could cause a change in (Time Spent Studying). We see that "Time Spent Studying" must be the independent variable and "Test Score" must be the dependent variable because the sentence doesn't make sense the other way around.