Appendix B: Data recording & Analysis

• numeric values reflect the accuracy of the measurement, based on the measuring tool used
• record ALL observations, even small ones
• a data sheet should have enough info so that a scientist could repeat the experiment
• How to plot experimental data:

  • plot #
  • descriptive titles
  • legend for multiple data sets
  • line of best fit
  • plots should fill the page
  • points clearly marked
  • labelled axis with units!
• accuracy


  deviation of a measured/calculated value from the "true" value
• precision


  measure of the reproducibility of an experiment. expressed as an average/sd
• more dispersion = a wider range
• systematic errors and random errors affect central tendency