Application - you have two objects that you want to push the same distance (5 meters) across the floor. the objects have different masses. the first object is a dresser (40 kg) and the second object is a kitchen chair (11.5 kg). which object will take more force to push the the 5 meters across the floor? why?

I see you're in Middle School, so I've got a hunch that they want you
to say "the dresser because it has more mass".  But that's a poor
answer, to a poor question.

The fact is that there's no way to tell.

The force it takes to move either object across the floor does NOT really
depend on just its mass.  It depends on both the object's mass AND the
friction between the object and the floor.  And THAT depends on the shape
of the feet where they touch the floor, and what kind of material the feet and
the floor are made of.

So it seems to me that we really don't have enough information to answer
the question with.

But again, I suspect that the answer they want is "the dresser because
it has more mass".

Independent variable is something that is changed in a experiment.