According to the sources, the independent variable belongs on the x-axis (horizontal line) of the graph, while the dependent variable belongs on the y-axis (vertical line) . The independent variable is the variable that is not controlled or affected by other variables, while the dependent variable is the variable that is affected by the independent variable. The independent variable is also known as the "explanatory variable," while the dependent variable is known as the "response variable". In some cases, there may be more than one dependent variable, but there should only be one independent variable.