Which term describes a variable that is not controlled or manipulated in an experiment?

The term that accurately describes a variable that is not controlled or manipulated in an experiment is "uncontrolled variable." This refers to any factor that can influence the outcome of the experiment but is not being directly studied or accounted for by the researcher. Uncontrolled variables can introduce noise to the data and potentially confound the results, making it difficult to determine the true effect of the independent variable.

In contrast, the independent variable is the one that the researcher actively manipulates to observe its effect on another variable. The dependent variable, however, is what the researcher measures in response to changes in the independent variable. Confounding variables are extraneous variables that may influence the dependent variable alongside the independent variable, but unlike uncontrolled variables, confounding variables are those that researchers may need to control for in order to clarify the relationship being studied.

Understanding the role of uncontrolled variables is crucial in experimental design, as they can impact the validity and reliability of the study's findings.