You are looking at how your dinner bill changes, depending on the amount of food ordered.

Question

Number of entrees ordered at dinner:
Dollars spent to pay dinner bill:

Which is dependent

Answer 1

In this scenario, the dollars spent to pay the dinner bill is the dependent variable, and the number of entrees ordered at dinner is the independent variable.

The reason for this is that the total bill typically depends on how many entrees (and possibly other items) you order. As you increase the number of entrees, the total amount you have to pay will change accordingly. In this way, the dollars spent is influenced by the number of entrees ordered.