For her science project, Paula wants to determine if the growth of bacteria in standing rainwater changes over time. She collects rainwater and distributes it evenly in 6 jars and places them all indoors in a spot that does not receive a lot of sunlight to limit evaporation. Using a bacteria testing kit, she measures the bacteria in the water in the first jar on the 5th day, second jar on the 7th day, third jar on the 9th day, fourth jar on the 14th day, fifth jar on the 20th day, and sixth jar on the 24th day. What is the independent or manipulated variable in Paula's experiment?