Merrylands High School Junior Assessment Notification

Student Research project (SRP)

Subject: Science Stage: 4 Year: 8

Coordinating teacher: A. Leung You will be awarded a mark from: 0 - 22 Topic: Scientific Investigations Course component: Planning and conducting investigations; Communicating Date assigned: Date due:

Task outline: The purpose of this task is to determine your skills in planning and carrying out an investigation, solving problems and communicating ideas. This task is designed to see how well you can: Design an experiment Include a control in your experiment Make your experiment fair Select appropriate equipment Conduct an experiment and record observations appropriately Write an experimental report Your experiment report can be in a medium of your choice (Eg. Typed report, video, website). Your teacher will inform you on how to submit your report. Write it down in the space below. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ You will also be required to maintain a record your ideas and progress of your SRP in a log. In each science lesson you will need to record what you did for the experiment. Your teacher will let inform you on how you will complete your log. Write it down in the space below. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Outcomes assessed: A student: 4.13 clarifies the purpose of an investigation and, with guidance, produces a plan to investigate a problem 4.14 follows a sequence of instructions to undertake a first-hand investigation 4.17 evaluates the relevance of data and information 4.18 with guidance, presents information to an audience to achieve a particular purpose

Coordinating teacher: A Leung

Head teacher: A Leung

Student Research Project Topics for investigation You are to choose one of the following topics to investigate: 1. Which brand of paper towel is the most absorbent? 2. Which brand of sticky tape is the stickiest? 3. Does lemon slow down apple pieces from turning brown? 4. What is the effect of yeast on bread dough? 5. What is the effect of salt on the germination and growth of seeds? 6. Which antibacterial hand wash is the best at killing bacteria? 7. Which paper plane design will fly the furthest? 8. What is the best way to keep cold drinks cold without using the fridge? 9. What materials are best for keeping warm? 10. Which type of fruit has the highest amount of vitamin C? 11. What ratio of vinegar and bicarb soda will inflate a balloon the most? 12. What is the effect of acidified water on seashells made of calcium carbonate? 13. What is the effect of gravity on the growth of seeds? 14. Will vitamins affect the growth of a plant? 15. What is the effect of salinity on tomato plants? 16. Does crowding of seeds influence their growth? 17. Is rainwater absorbed at the same rate in different kinds of soil?

If you have another topic that you would like to investigate, please speak to your teacher.

Marking criteria Background information

Aim Planning and conducting investigations Hypothesis

Thorough background information on the experiment is presented Brief background information on the experiment is presented Not demonstrated Aim is clearly stated Aim is not clearly stated or not demonstrated Hypothesis is a testable statement that is a prediction of the outcome of the experiment Not demonstrated All or most of the equipment used are listed Not demonstrated Clearly written as a procedural text; in present tense; each step starting with a verb

2 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 3 2 1 0 2 1 0 3 2 1 0 3

Equipment Method

Safety precautions

Results

Safety issues and precautions are described Only safety issues or precautions listed Not demonstrated Results are clearly presented in appropriate tables, graphs and/or photos, including correct use of headings and units

Discussion

Thorough interpretation of results; comments on validity and reliability; describes possible sources of error and problems encountered in the experiment; suggests modifications and improvements

Conclusion Communication skills

Acknowledgements Bibliography Log book

Appropriate conclusion related to the aim and hypothesis Appropriate conclusion related to the aim or hypothesis Not demonstrated Acknowledgements present Not demonstrated 3 or more references are included and are listed in APA style Not demonstrated Log book includes a description and reflection on the progress of the experiment Log book includes a description or list of the progress of the experiment Not demonstrated

2 1 0 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 2 1 0

Planning and conducting investigations = Communication = Total =

My SRP plan
What is my investigation topic? Look at the list of experiments in the Task Outline. Choose an experiment to do in class. If you want to you can also choose an experiment to do at home.

The experiment I want to do in class is

The experiment I want to do at home is

What is the background information for my investigation topic? For example, if you experiment is to see whether lemons can stop apples from turning brown, your background information will be about why apples turn brown when they are cut into pieces and exposed to air. Use the Citations and Bibliography tool in Microsoft Word to keep track of the sources that you use in APA style. Your teacher will show you how to do this.

What is the aim for my experiment?

What is the hypothesis for my experiment? This is a prediction of what you think will happen in the experiment.

What equipment do I need for my experiment?

Can I get the equipment myself or do I have to ask my teacher?

Experimental report scaffold

Title Give your report a title that is short and concise, and tells the reader what the experiment will be about Background information Combine your research from at least 3 different sources to give a summary on what you already know about your experiment Aim What is the purpose of your experiment? (To .....) Hypothesis What are you predicting will be the result of your experiment? (Look at your planning sheet) Equipment List all the equipment you used in your experiment Method Write how you did the experiment in steps. Each step needs to start with a verb. Draw a scientific diagram to show how you set up the equipment. Independent variable What did you change on purpose in this experiment? Dependent variable What did you measure for the result in this experiment? Controlled variables What did you keep the same to make the experiment fair? Results Draw a table and graph to present your results Discussion Answer these questions in your discussion: What do you results indicate? Describe the trends (patterns) and relationships your results show. How do your results relate to what you expected from your background research? Do they agree or contradict the background research? What are the logical explanations for your results? Refer to your background research. Are there any results that are usual? If so, explain any errors that might have happened in your experiment. How can you improve your experiment if you did it again? Describe at least 3 ways of improving your experiment and explain why each way will improve your experiment? What are some further experiments you can do?

Conclusion Write a conclusion that answers the aim. Say whether your hypothesis was correct or incorrect. References/Bibliography List all sources you have used (books, internet, etc) in APA style. Use the Citations and Bibliography tool in Microsoft Word. Your teacher will show you how to do this.

Log entry template

Use this template to help you write your log entry. You have to write a log entry each time you work on your experiment. Date: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ What Write a paragraph what you did for your experiment today.

Why

Write a paragraph on why did you do the above? How was it useful?

Learned

Write a paragraph on what you learned on found out today about your experiment.

Goal setting

List what you will do next for your experiment.