Chifley College
Mount Druitt Campus
ASSESSMENT TASK
Student:
Faculty:
Subject:
Year:
Class:
Teacher:
Science
Science
10
Task Title: First Hand Investigation
Task Number: 1
Weighting:
30% of Yr 10 marks
Marks:
Out of 60
Date Issue:
10/03/14
Date Due:
04 /04/14
Outcomes Assessed
Outcome 5.13: A student identifies a problem and independently produces an appropriate investigation plan.
Outcome 5.17: A student explains trends, patterns and relationships in data and/or information from a variety
of sources.
Task Description
This is an independent scientific research project. You will have to choose your own topic and
conduct your own experiment to examine some aspect of that topic. You will then have to submit a
coversheet, logbook and written scientific report about the experiment you have completed. Each
section of the task has a separate due date.
Task Instructions and Requirements
For full task instructions see over sheet.
Notes about the task:
 The task is to be completed as an independent activity. You cannot submit a joint Research
Project with another student.
 Late work will not be accepted without a Doctor’s Certificate. You must submit each part of the
Project on the due dates given.
Seek additional assistance if you need it. Talk to your teacher before the due date if you are
experiencing difficulty.
Submission requirements for all Take Home Written Tasks
A. The Scientific Report will be word processed or neatly written on A4 paper.
B. Submitted together in a plastic sleeve.
C. Length Requirements: Coversheet – on the attached proforma.
Logbook – bound notepad / booklet / small exercise book.
Report – 2 to 4 A4 pages including diagrams.
D. Assessment Coversheet (this page) completed and attached to the front of the task.
E. Referenced using the Harvard Method (Author, date, title, publisher, place, URL)
Please note that assessment tasks without the above will not be accepted
 Tick if supplementary material / information is attached.
Marking Criteria
See attached documents for detailed marking criteria
*** If you fail to hand in this task on the due date you will receive a zero mark and an ‘N’ Award
for non-completion of an assessment task. ***
Name:________________
Class:________________
This Assessment will be marked as follows
This sheet must be handed in with the report.
1.
Cover Sheet
Question being marked
1. Is the problem valid to research?
2. Is the problem being investigated in the correct
way?
3. Is there a hypothesis suggested?
4. Is the thinking behind the hypothesis reasonable?
5. Are the variables listed correct?
6. Variables correctly identified as
dependent/independent.
7. Controls correctly identified
Total
2.
/1
/1
/1
/2
/2
/ 10
Log Book
Items Being Marked
Includes multiple entries which are dated.
Contains all rough data collected
Discusses how the experiment was conducted and any
issues related to this.
Total
3.
Mark
/1
/2
Mark
/ 2
/ 3
/ 5
/ 10
Scientific Report
Items Being Marked
Heading
Problem is identified
Aim is appropriate
Hypothesis is feasible
Materials List included with all equipment used
Method is correct, and easy to follow.
Diagrams
Results are neat and tabled/graphed were needed.
Discussion covers all topics listed appropriately
Conclusion drawn is valid & to the point.
Mark
/2
/2
/2
/4
/3
/10
/2
/10
/10
/5
/ 50
Chifley College – Mt Druitt Campus
Year 10 Science Assessment – Experimental Design Project Guidelines.
GENERAL INFORMATION
This is an individual task. All work must be your own work and must not be copied from other students.
You can not do this assessment in teams.
Students are encouraged to ask for help from the teachers of the Science faculty and to use the
opportunity of the Homework Centre.
You must put your name and your teacher’s name on the report, logbook and coversheet.
You also have to consider the safety rules when choosing your project. Remember:
 Your project cannot involve explosions, poisons or flammable substances
 Your project cannot involve constructing circuits using 240 Volts of Electricity.
 Your project cannot involve the use of animals
 Your project cannot cause harm to the environment
Ideas for the Task:
Part of this assessment involves you deciding your own topic. Ideally, the problem you decide to investigate
should be one you come up with yourself. However, it is often hard to think of things you can investigate.
Possible ideas have been included. You may choose one of these ideas to research; however, you must
conduct the experiment yourself and not copy off another student.
 How does soil salinity affect the growth of plants?
 Which glue sticks best?
 Which toilet paper is the strongest?
 Does salt in water affect the speed of freezing or boiling?
 Do seeds of the same type germinate at the same rate?
 Which type of paper aeroplane flies the best?
 Does the temperature of water change how fast salt dissolves in it?
 What is the effect of coloured light on plant growth
 Which brand of pen lasts the longest?
 Which batteries last the longest?
Your cover sheet is due:
17/03/14
This date should be approximately 1 week after you receive this assessment task
Failure to hand in the cover sheet will result in an
N- Award
Your log book and report is due:
04/04/14
Failure to hand in the log book and the report will
result in another N -Award
Instructions for the task
1. Complete and Submit your Research Project Cover Sheet
There are 6 simple questions on your cover sheet that you need to answer.
These questions are designed to help you think out & plan your investigation properly.
This sheet will also help your teacher to see that you know what you are doing and are on the right track.
This is marked so you must hand it in.
2. Complete and Submit your Research Project Log Book
Your log book is handed in with your report
Your logbook is a diary of your project.
Include ideas, research, plans, difficulties and changes.
Some pointers:
 It should be a book of some sort (notebook) not loose paper.
 It should contain multiple entries which include the date at the top.
 It should discuss all ideas you have had, like a journal.
 It should explain the steps you took to solve the problem.
 It should contain rough copies of any data you collect.
 It should contain a rough discussion of your results.
Your research log is meant to be your original work. Don’t copy it out neatly again or put it on computer.
It is meant to be a rough workbook.
3. Complete and Submit your Research Project Scientific Report
A Scientific Report is a formal, clear and structured write-up of the investigation you have carried out.
Because it is the most important part of your Research Project, it is essential you devote care and time towards
completing it properly. A full Scientific Report will include the following headings and subheadings:
Student Investigation: ________________________________ (Experiment Heading)
Problem:
What is the problem and why is it being investigated?
Hypothesis:
What results do you expect to obtain and why?
Aim:
What are you going to do in this investigation?
Materials:
List all of the materials you used to complete this experiment.
Method:
What procedure did you follow? (Write it out in steps.)
This should be detailed and clear enough for your experiment to be repeated by anyone else
following your steps.
Diagram(s):
Include hand drawn diagrams or photographs as appropriate.
Results:
Record your data using tables / graphs as is appropriate.
Also record any observations you have made.
Discussion:
How else could this problem have been approached?
How could you improve this experiment if you did it again?
Discuss your results, what do your results mean?
Conclusion:
A short statement which tells us what the solution was to the problem you
investigated.
Name:______________________________________________
Class:_______________
Year 10 Student Research Project - Cover Sheet
1.
What problem do you intend to investigate?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
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2.
Describe briefly how you think you will investigate this problem.
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3.
What is your hypothesis for this experiment?
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4.
Why have you formed this hypothesis?
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5.
Are there variables to consider? If yes what are they?
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6.
Of these variables, which is your dependent variable, which is your independent variable, and which
variables are you going to keep unchanged?
Dependent Variable
_________________________________________________________________________________________
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Independent Variable
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Variables to be kept constant
7.
What is your control treatment for this experiment? If you won’t be using one, explain why?
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