Experimental Report Writing scaffold
Today you are to design and conduct an experiment looking at how temperature
affects rate of reaction. This experiment is outlined on the accompanying doc.
How does temperature affect reaction rate: Write down here what you think about
this idea and why. Reactions are about collisions of particles. How does temperature
affect the kinetic energy of particles? How would this affect this rate of collision?
This prac is to help you develop your understanding of experiment design.
We have 3 types of variables in an experiment:
1. The independent variable: This is the variable that you are deliberately
changing to see its effect on something else.
2. The dependent variable: This is the variable that you are measuring as part
of your result to see how it is affected.
3. Controlled variables: These are all the things you keep the same to make
sure you experiment is fair. This makes your experiment VALID.
If only one thing is different between your tests, you can be confident that it alone is
causing the difference in results.
In your prac group think carefully about this experiment.
1. What is your independent variable? Justify your response.
2. What is the dependent variable? Justify your response. Answer over page.
3. What are all the variables that are needing to be controlled?
Now you are going to have a go at using all of this knowledge to complete the
scaffold below. Read the instructions and tips carefully.
Remember to take into account reliability, validity and accuracy in your method.
Title
This must have key words from the experiment.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Aim
To (measure, classify, observe, etc) …….
What are you trying to find out?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
That as the ______________________ increases, the ______________________
_______________________________
(What do you think is the relationship between the two things)
List all Hazards (what poses a risk) and Prevention (how to avoid issues)
ITEM
HAZARD
MANAGEMENT
What is the item that How can this impact What will be done to reduce
presents a risk
on you
the risk
E.g. Glassware
cutting your hand
Use with care and tell the
and causing cuts and teacher immediately if
laceration
anything breaks
Hypothesis
Safety
Materials
List all equipment used including how many of each. Include a correctly
drawn scientific diagram if appropriate.
Method
Results
Graph
1. Number the steps down the page.
2. Describe only 1 instruction per step so it is clear what you did.
3. Write a verb at the start of each step.
4. Think clearly about the most logical order to do the experiment.
5. Write it like you are telling another person what to do.
6. No personal pronouns like I, me, we
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Write a heading for your table
Don’t forget to add units in brackets to the headings.
Put the independent variable in the left column and the dependent variable
in the right column.
Heading: _________________________________________________________________
Use either excel or google sheets to insert a graph. May not be appropriate.
Trial
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Average
Time to dissolve in Concentration of hydrochloric acid
(s)
0.1M
0.5M
1.0M
2M
4M
>1,200
>900
265
37
30
164
43
418
63
210
55
1200+
246
43
338
58
600
314
84
>660
166
47
265
54
Discussion
Briefly summarise the results (in sentences) and outline what they mean.
What were the challenges? How can your method be improved? What more
can be done? Comment on reliability, validity and accuracy.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Conclusion
Address the AIM in one sentence – what was the final outcome? Was your
hypothesis correct?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________