031 can! For each situation, determine which variable is the independent variable and which variable is the dependent variable. A) Your high school's basketball team, which won 20 games, finished the season higher in the standings than your rival high school's team, which won 14 games. The variables are number of games won and place in standings. B) in science class, you observed that more sugar dissolved in a beaker of water when you heated the water. The variables are amount of sugar dissolved and temperature of the water c) A two-carat diamond costs more than a one-carat diamond. The variables are number of carats and cost of the the diamond.