What is gastroparesis? Gastroparesis, also called delayed gastric emptying, is a disorder that slows or stops the movement of food from the stomach to the small intestine. Normally, the muscles of the stomach, which are controlled by the vagus nerve, contract to break up food and move it through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
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. The scientist focuses his or her observations on the dependent variable to see how it responds to the change made to the independent variable.
The purpose of a hypothesis is to find the answer to a question. A formalized hypothesis will force us to think about what results we should look for in an experiment. The first variable is called the independent variable. This is the part of the experiment that can be changed and tested. The independent variable happens first and can be considered the cause of any changes in the outcome. The outcome is called the dependent variable.