Practical Reports

• Aim


  A statement of purpose - why are you conducting the experiment and what do you hope to find out. Start with the word 'To', then use a word to describe the type of experiment e.g. model, investigate, determine, test etc.
• Hypothesis


  A statement about what you think may happen during your investigation. It is a statement you can test. Use 'If the [independent variable] affects the [dependent variable] then [what you think will happen]'. Do not use 'I think' or 'I hypothesise', - NO PERSONAL LANGUAGE!
• Safety/Risk Assessment


  1. Describe the risk

  2. What injury is it likely to cause

  3. How can the chance of receiving such an injury be minimised?
• Materials/Equipment


  Specific list of all materials required including all measurements and concentrations
• Method


  1. Numbered steps

  2. Clear and concise

  3. Written in the past tense

  4. Able to be understood by someone who did not do the experiment with you

  5. Able to be repeated exactly as you did it

  6. No personal language ('I', 'we' or 'you')
• Results


  Usually shown in table form although depending on the experiment photographs, drawings etc. may be acceptable. Constructing a table needs to have: Line between data and heading, Line separating columns, Units present in the heading (never with the data), Be boxed in
• Discussion


  1. Trends: Discuss any trends seen in your data and explain the science behind the observed trend. Research may be required!

  2. Mistakes: Discuss any mistakes that you have made during the experiment. Did anything go wrong?

  3. Improvements: Suggest ways that the experiment could be improved.
• Conclusion


  A SHORT statement that answers your aim and hypothesis. One to two sentences max. No new information is to be included in the conclusion - this would need to be added in the discussion.
• Variables


  • CHANGE: Independent
  • MEASURE: Dependent
  • SAME: Constant
• Graph


  X axis, Y axis
• Reliability, Validity and Accuracy


  • first-hand information and data
  • secondary information and data
  • Have I tested with repetition?
  • How consistent is the information with information from other reputable sources?
  • Does my procedure experiment actually test the hypothesis that I want it to? What variables have I identified and controlled?
  • How close are my measurements to the correct result?
  • How correct is the material I have researched?