A variable does not usually "cause" another. A change in one variable may result in a change in another. Such a change may be systematic (the relationship between the two variables is precise) or it may be statistical or correlational.
The reasons for either type will often depend on disciplines of knowledge other than mathematics, such as physics or economics etc.
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Use the definition of a function. If, for any value of one variable, there is only a single possible value of the second variable, then the second variable is a function of the first variable. The second variable is often called the "dependent variable". If you can solve an equation explicitly for the dependent variable, then it is a function. If you can NOT solve it for a variable, it may or may not be a function - it turns out that some equations are hard or impossible to solve explicitly for one of the variables.
If changes in one variable do not affect the outcome of another variable, then the second variable is independent. A variable that is not independent is dependent.
Solving for one variable makes it easy to put in a value for the other variables, and find a value for the first variable.
causation
Oh honey, the independent variable is the one you can control and manipulate, like a puppet master pulling the strings. The dependent variable is the one that sits back and gets affected by the independent variable's shenanigans, like a poor unsuspecting victim. So, in simpler terms, the independent variable is the cause, and the dependent variable is the effect.