Drawing Scientific Diagrams
What is a scientific diagram?
A scientific diagram is a picture which shows exactly how an experiment has been set up. They
aren’t supposed to look like realistic sketches and are drawn in two dimensions. They need to be
very clear, precise and easy to understand.
Scientific diagrams are used as part of a scientific method to exactly how an experiment was set
up and carried out so that other scientists can repeat the experiment. This is an important part
of making sure that an experiment is reproducible. This means that other scientists can carry out
the experiment to see if they get similar results in order to check the reliability of the
experiment and its results. It’s a bit like citing the written sources of information - it means that
what a person claims can be checked.
In science lessons and exams children are required to draw scientific diagrams which show how
a particular experiment is set up and executed. There are common pieces of equipment which
are represented in certain ways in the scientific diagram to help everyone who look s at it
understand what equipment is being used and how.
Scientific diagrams need to be clear and easy to understand so that other people can replicate
the experiment - this is a key part of a proper experiment. They use standard representations of
objects in 2D.
2
RULES OF SCIENTIFIC DRAWING
1. Use a sharp, hard pencil. This allows you to make bold, precise lines which can be rubbed our
and altered if you make a mistake.
2. Draw your scientific diagram large enough that every part of it can be seen clearly - don’t try to
squash anything into a small space. There should be room around the diagram for clear, written
labels.
3. Use a ruler when drawing straight lines. This helps you keep the diagram neat, clear and precise
and means that there won’t be any unnecessary parts of a line.
4. Draw using single, solid lines. This means that each piece of equipment in the diagram should be
drawn with a single line. Don’t sketch or use dashed lines. You can find stencils which help you
keep your equipment to a single line.
5. Only draw simple black and white outlines of each piece of equipment. Don’t use shading,
colours or shadows to make the drawings look more realistic.
6. Everything you draw should be a 2D representation of the equipment. This helps to keep your
scientific diagram clear - an attempt at drawing something realistically could be open to
interpretations.
7. Don’t draw lines across the tops of things that are open like funnels, beakers or test tubes. This
is to show people that the top is open and can have liquids poured into it.
8. Draw the pieces of equipment in your experiment to scale so that they are in proportion with
one another. This helps people looking at your scientific diagram to understand what everything
is as the proportions of the objects reflect real life.
9. If pieces of equipment are touching your diagram must show this as well. Don’t draw any pieces
of equipment floating as this isn’t explaining the setup of your experiment properly. So, if a
funnel sits in a beaker your scientific diagram should show the sides of the beaker supporting
the funnel.
10. Label each piece of equipment clearly with printed or block capital letters - no cursive. Draw a
straight line using a ruler to connect the label to the piece of equipment.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Source: https://www.twinkl.com.eg/teaching-wiki/scientific-diagram