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Number: 43935
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Extracts from Science Syllabus Stages 4-5 Board of Studies, NSW 2003
Microsoft Excel Screenshots reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation
Unit Overview
pp iii-vi
Graphing Data
pp 15-19
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Introduction....................................................................... 3
Writing the report .............................................................. 5
The style of a scientific report...................................................5
Introduction
Now is the time to write your experimental report. To help you with the
format there is a scaffold supplied. This sets out what is expected in each
step of the report. You may choose to use this format or if you feel
confident, write your own report.
You should:
show in your logbook that you have drafted a report about your
research project.
Writing a title
The title of a research project should give the reader an idea of what the
experiment is about. It can include the independent and dependent
variables. For example: Investigation on the effect of daylength on
flowering in tomato plants.
Writing a title
Rewrite the following title to make it a better project title.
An investigation of the numbers of native and introduced fish species
found in NSW rivers in the 1970s compared with the numbers of these
fish found now.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Change in the numbers of native and introduced fish in NSW rivers since 1970
Your turn
Draft a title for your own project in your logbook.
When you are satisfied with your title turn to the experimental report
scaffold at the end of this lesson and fill in the Title.
Aim
The aim is a simple statement that tells the reader what you are setting
out to do. It often starts out with a simple statement starting with "To".
Do not use the first person "I". A simple way to write the aim is identify
the independent and dependent variables and then put the aim in the
following format:
To determine the effect of (insert the independent variable) on (insert the
dependent variable).
For example:
To determine the effect of daylength on flowering in tomatoes.
and not
I grew some plants and then I used different daylengths to see when
flowering occurred.
Your turn
Draft an aim for your own project in your logbook.
Now turn to the experimental report scaffold at the end of this lesson and
write the aim of your experiment.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is a statement to explain observations in an experiment.
The experiment should be designed so that it tests the hypothesis. The
hypothesis is not proved during an experiment, rather the experiment
either supports the hypothesis or doesn't support the hypothesis. If further
experiments do not support the hypothesis then a new hypothesis must be
written to take into account observations from experiments.
For example:
A daylength greater than thirteen hours promotes flowering in tomatoes.
Your turn
What is the hypothesis for your project? Edit your hypothesis in your
logbook and check that it contains a prediction that can be tested.
Check that what you are aiming to do is a test of the prediction in the
hypothesis.
Complete the hypothesis section of the report scaffold.
Steps
This section lists the steps you took when conducting your investigation.
For example:
1
Equipment
Include a full list of the equipment required using the correct scientific
names, e.g. test tube, beaker. Include any safety equipment required, e.g.
goggles, lab. coat, fume cupboard. Be specific about the equipment, 10
cm pots, 250 mL beaker.
For example:
soil
artificial lights
500 mL pots with 250 g of soil with 10 tomatoes growing
gloves
covered shoes
laboratory coat.
Now turn to the experimental report scaffold at the end of this lesson and
write the equipment for your experiment.
10
Experimental design
Replication
The experiment must be designed so that the method can be reproduced
by other people and give the same result. Therefore, several replicates
should be taken during the experiment.
For example: Each pot had 10 tomato plants so these were replicates for
the treatment.
Repetition
The experiment must be repeated several times. This increases the
reliability of the experiment by reducing the chance of errors or an
unusual result.
For example: The entire experiment was repeated.
Risk assessment
Assess the dangers that may be involved in the experiment and describe
how you are going to overcome them.
For example: Soil may contain harmful micro-organisms. To overcome
this risk gloves were worn at all times. When working with heavy
containers there is a risk that they might fall. To overcome this risk
covered shoes were worn.
Dependent variable
Identify the dependent variable in your experiment. This is what you are
measuring in your experiment. When drawing a graph the dependent
variable usually goes on the Y-axis. It can be thought of as the
responding variable, it responds to the experimental changes you make.
For example: The dependent variable was flowering.
11
Independent variable
Identify the independent variable in your experiment. The independent
variable is the variable that you are manipulating to cause a change in the
dependent variable. It is usually placed on the X axis (horizontal) of a
graph.
For example: The independent variable was the daylength.
Control
A control may be included as a comparison so that the experimental
effect can be attributed to a change in variables.
For example: One group of tomatoes was kept at a 12:12 day to night
ratio.
Variables
All variables other than the dependent and independent variables must be
kept the same so that any effect can be attributed to the change in the
independent variable affecting the dependent variable.
For example: Temperature, amount of water and humidity levels were all
kept the same. The soil and containers were the same. The amount of
time for flowering was also kept the same.
Now turn to the experimental report scaffold at the end of this lesson and
write the experimental design of your experiment.
12
Your turn
You need to look at the data you gathered in your investigation and
decide the best method of presentation.
Any evidence you have found must be clearly and concisely presented so
make sure that tables, graphs and diagrams are clearly titled and labelled.
And, dont make them too small. They should be large enough to
illustrate your research findings at a glance.
Go to the exercises section and write your results into the experimental
report scaffold. Do not discuss what the results mean or why you got
these particular results in this section.
13
14
conclusion
references
appendix.
Conclusion
A conclusion is like an answer to your aim. It includes a summary of
your results and discussion. If your research supports your hypothesis,
then your hypothesis and conclusion will agree with each other. If the
research does not support the hypothesis, then the hypothesis and
conclusion will not agree.
Did your research support or not support your hypothesis? If it supported
your hypothesis then you should be able to see a match between your
hypothesis and your conclusion. (If your research did not support the
hypothesis then you should write your conclusion so that it is obvious
that the hypothesis, and conclusion do not match.)
Does your conclusion support (or not) this hypothesis?
___________________________________________________________
The conclusion section of a scientific report contains your ideas about
what the results mean. Interpret your results in this section.
You should include the following information:
15
Your discussion should analyse your results and suit the purpose of your
investigation.
Your turn
Plan a discussion of your results. Use the points below to help you
organise your thoughts.
Describe the trends in your data. What does it show?
What is some evidence to support this interpretation of the data?
What were the limitations of your research? For example, would you
have obtained a better answer to your problem if you had had more
time, more equipment, had studied more variables and so on.
Suggest some further research that could be performed in the topic
area of your research. For example, it could be another problem that
you discovered while you were doing your research.
Look through your logbook to check that you have analysed all the
information you collected.
Complete the conclusion section of the report scaffold.
References
At the end of any research report, there should be a list of all the
references you consulted and used information from during your research
project. (Dont list resources that you looked at but didnt use.)
It should be easy for you to put your reference list together because you
have been writing the information about each resource you used into
your logbook.
Use a standard reference system.
For books:
Smith JM. Tomatoes that changed the world, New York: Macmillan, 2005.
16
For pamphlets:
Australian Photonics, The how, what and why of optical fibres. Australian Photonics.
Sydney.
For websites:
Learning Materials Production 2005, NSW Department of education and training,
Sydney, viewed 20 March 2005,
<www.lmpc.edu.au/Science/junior_science/project.htm>
For people:
Fred Bloggs, nurseryman
Appendix
An appendix is an attachment that contains materials to support your
report. These are materials that you refer to in your report. They may
include tables of information, survey questionnaires, raw data, relevant
photographs, letters and articles. Each separate type of attachment is
included as a separate appendix. It is also a good place for a logbook.
Not all reports will have an appendix. You will need to decide if you
need an appendix or not.
Complete the appendix section of the report scaffold if necessary.
17
18
19
No
A bit
Yes
20
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____________________________
Teacher ____________________________
Title
21
Aim:
Hypothesis:
Method:
Steps
22
Equipment
23
Experimental design
Replication
Repetition
Risk assessment
Dependent variable
Independent variable
24
Control
Controlled variables
Analysis
25
Results:
26
Conclusion:
References:
27
Appendix:
28