An investigator gives the experimental group ginseng and the control group a placebo. in this study, what the groups receive is the variable.

I believe the answer is: dependent variable

dependent variable refers To the variable that is influenced by other variables. In the example above, by receiving the treatment (which is an independent variable) , the condition of the group would somehow changed/influenced. this is why they are considered to be a dependent variable.

answer; software failure, and human error;