Western Sydney High School

Year 12 Chemistry Assessment Task 3 Notification

Student name:____________________________________

Teacher:__________________

Class:___________

Date of notification:11/05/18

Due date: 1/06/18

STUDENT CONFIRMATION
This is all my own work. I have referenced any work used from other sources and have not
plagiarised the work of others
Student Signature: _______________________________________
I have kept a copy of my task Yes/No

Assessment Task Receipt Students are to record all details before handing in. Teachers sign as a
receipt.
Student Name: ________________________________ Subject:
___________________________
Task Number: ________ Date Due: ______________ Date Submitted: __________________
Student Signature: ___________________________
Teacher Signature: ___________________________
Context: Year 12 Chemistry Module 6:Acid/Base Reactions
Acids and bases, and their reactions, are used extensively in everyday life and in the
human body. The chemistry of acids and bases contributes to industrial contexts and
the environment. Therefore, it is essential that the degree of acidity in these situations
is continually monitored. By investigating the qualitative and quantitative properties of
acids and bases, students learn to appreciate the importance of factors such as pH and
indicators.

Students have studied these acid/base reactions and will demonstrate their
understanding and skill by completing a Scientific Report based on a titration practical.

Task number: 3 Weighting: 30% Timing: Term 3, Week 9,

Friday 1/06/18
Outcomes assessed
A student:
 develops and evaluates questions and hypotheses for scientific investigation
CH11/12-1
 designs and evaluates investigations in order to obtain primary and secondary
data and information CH11/12-2
 conducts investigations to collect valid and reliable primary and secondary data
and information CH11/12-3
 analyses and evaluates primary and secondary data and information CH11/12-5
 communicates scientific understanding using suitable language and terminology
for a specific audience or purpose CH11/12-7
 describes, explains and quantitatively analyses acids and bases using
contemporary models CH12-13
Nature of the task
Scientific Report:
Students will complete a Scientific report using data they have gathered from a titration
practical they conducted in class.

Sources to help you

Refer to the example Titration Experiment Report. This will help you with the structure,
calculations and analysis of your task.
Retrieved from:
https://easychem.com.au/the-acidic-environment/acid-base-definitions/titration-
experiment/
Feedback provided
To inform future learning your feedback will consist of:
 an annotated marking guidelines sheet
 annotations on your submitted work
 table of feedback
Marking criteria

Knowledge and understanding

CH12-13 describes, explains and quantitatively analyses acids and bases using contemporary
models
Students:
 provides relevant background information
 use symbols and formulae accurately to express relationships and use appropriate units for physical
quantities
 describe the correct technique for conducting titrations

Questioning and predicting

CH11/12-1 develops and evaluates questions and hypotheses for scientific investigation
Students:
 develop and evaluate inquiry questions and hypotheses to identify a concept that can be investigated
scientifically, involving primary and secondary data
 modify questions and hypotheses to reflect new evidence

Planning investigations
CH11/12-2 designs and evaluates investigations in order to obtain primary and secondary data and
information
Students:
 assess risks
 justify and evaluate the use of variables and experimental controls to ensure that a valid procedure
is developed that allows for the reliable collection of data
 evaluate and modify an investigation in response to new evidence

Conducting investigations
CH11/12-3 conducts investigations to collect valid and reliable primary and secondary data and
information
Students:
 employ and evaluate safe work practices and manage risks
 use appropriate technologies to ensure and evaluate accuracy
 select and extract information from a wide range of reliable secondary sources and acknowledge them
using an accepted referencing style

Analysing data and information

CH11/12-5 Analyses and evaluates primary and secondary data and information
Students:
 assess relevance and reliability of the gathered information
 identify and apply appropriate mathematical formulae and concepts
 assess the accuracy of any measurements and calculations and the relative importance of any data
and information gathered

Communicating
CH11/12-7 Communicates scientific understanding using suitable language and terminology for a
specific audience or purpose
Students:
 select and apply appropriate scientific notations, nomenclature and scientific language to
communicate in a variety of contexts- Scientific Report
Student information:

Task:
You are to complete a Scientific Report for the Titration Practical that will be completed in class.
The Practical is a Titration where a sample of vinegar will be analysed for its ethanoic acid
content using a neutralisation reaction with sodium hydroxide. You will use the data gathered
from the practical for this report.
Student Instructions:
1. Record your data from the Practical in order to use it for the Scientific Report. You will
use the Practical to determine as accurately as possible, the concentration (in
moles/litre) of the vinegar that is titrated with the sodium hydroxide solution.
2. You will need to complete a Scientific Report including the descriptions of how you
carried out the investigation; a results table, calculations and analysis of the results.
THE REPORT STRUCTURE
A title page:
 Title
 Your name and the name of your partners for the Practical
 Date of the Practical
Title:
 A brief title that explains the main point of the investigation
Introduction:
 A paragraph that explains the purpose of the investigation and any relevant background
information
 State your hypothesis
Materials:
 List all the equipment and materials needed for the investigation
Safety Precautions/Risk Assessment:
 Identify the hazards
 Assess the risk
 Identify how the risk will be controlled
 Identify how the chemicals will be disposed of safely
Method:
 Give step-by-step instructions of how the investigation was conducted. The procedure should be
able to be followed by someone who has never done the investigation before.
 Provide a labelled diagram of the experimental set-up
Data:
 Present your numerical data in the form of a table
Results:
 Explain in words what the numerical data means
Calculations: Show your working out
 Calculate the number of moles of NaOH using the average titration volume.

 Write the chemical equation for the neutralisation reaction.

 Calculate the concentration of ethanoic acid in the original vinegar solution in mol/L.

 Calculate the concentration of ethanoic acid in the diluted sample in mol/L.

  Calculate the % (w/v) of ethanoic acid in the original vinegar solution in g/L.
Discussion:
 This is where you interpret the data and identify whether the purpose of the investigation was
achieved and whether the hypothesis was correct or incorrect.
Analysis:
 Discuss what steps were taken to help ensure the accuracy and reliability of the investigation.
 Describe any mistakes that you made during the investigation.
 Identify TWO sources of error in this investigation.
 Outline TWO ways in which you can improve the accuracy of the results
 Outline TWO ways in which you can improve the reliability of the results
Application:
 Justify the rinsing of the burette with NaOH and the pipette with the vinegar solution instead of
distilled water, during the procedure.

 During the titration procedure, the conical flask was rinsed with distilled water only. It is not
rinsed with the solution to be placed in it. Explain the reason for this.
References:
 Provide a list of any sources of information you have used in Harvard 3 style in alphabetical
order.
Marking guidelines

Title

Criteria Marks
 Accurate title present 1

Introduction

Criteria Marks
 Thorough and relevant introduction with a relevant hypothesis 2
 Hypothesis present in introduction 1

Materials

Criteria Marks
 Complete list of the materials and equipment 2
 Incomplete list 1

Safety Precautions/Risk Assessment

Criteria Marks
 Complete risk assessment including identification of hazards, 3
risk assessment, control of risk and correct disposal methods
 Risk assessment including mostly complete identification of 2
hazards, risk assessment, control of risk and correct disposal
methods
 Incomplete risk assessment 1

Method

Criteria Marks
 Complete and accurate procedure 2
 Incomplete or inaccurate procedure 1

Results

Criteria Marks
 Results in table format with axis labels and correct units and 3
work outs the average volume of NaOH correctly
 Results in table format with axis labels and units and working 2
out of the average volume of NaOH
 Incomplete results table or incorrect format 1

Calculations

Criteria Marks
 Correctly work out the conc. by using c1v1 =c2v2 including
units 2
 Correctly work out the conc. by using c1v1 =c2v2 1
 Criteria Marks
 Correct chemical formula 1

Criteria Marks
 Correctly work out the conc of ethanoic acid by working out 3
the no of Moles and conc with units for each value
 Correctly work out the no. of moles and conc with units 2
omission
 Correct component worked out 1

Criteria Marks
 Correctly work out the % (w/v) of acetic acid
2
 Minor error calculation or absence of units 1

Discussion

Criteria Marks
 Concise, accurate and relevant discussion 2
 Incomplete or inaccurate discussion 1

Analysis

Criteria Marks
 Presents at least one for accuracy and one for reliability 2
 One measure taken for either accuracy or reliability 1

Criteria Marks
 Describes two relevant mistakes 2
 One relevant mistake 1

Criteria Marks
 Identifies two sources of error 2
 Identifies one source of error 1

Criteria Marks
 Outlines two ways to improve accuracy of results 2
 Outlines one way to improve accuracy of results 1

Criteria Marks
 Outlines two ways to improve reliability 2
 Outlines one way to improve reliability 1
Application

Criteria Marks
 Specify that water drops will dilute the solution and
decreases the concentration which will result in inaccurate 3
determination of the unknown conc.

 Specify that water drops will change the concentration and 2

will result in inaccurate determination of the unknown conc.

 Provide a correct reason, lacking the explanation 1

Criteria Marks
 Provides an explanation that involves no change in the
number of moles with excess of water drops; the number of 2
moles in the flask that is used to work out the conc when
carrying out a titration.
 Provides a correct response without explaining it 1

References

Criteria Marks
 References correctly listed and from reliable sources 2
 Incomplete or inaccurate list or non-reliable sources 1
Marking Guidelines

Students: Range of
Marks

 develop a relevant and effective hypothesis for a scientific investigation

 demonstrate comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the science and
chemistry of neutralisation reactions, acid/base reactions, titration and the
procedures required to safely handle and dispose of organic substances
 applies their knowledge of acid/base reactions and titrations to justify and explain the Outstanding
application questions
 applies mathematical and chemical knowledge to provide complete calculations 33-40
including correct units
 assess the relevance and reliability of the gathered data
 presents a complete and accurate scientific report
 use scientific terminology and principles effectively
 acknowledge sources appropriately and thoroughly

 develop a relevant hypothesis for a scientific investigation

 demonstrate accurate knowledge and understanding of the science and chemistry
of neutralisation reactions, acid/base reactions, titration and the procedures
required to safely handle and dispose of organic substances
 understands acid/base reactions and titrations to explain the application questions
High
 applies mathematical and chemical knowledge to provide complete calculations
 presents a mostly complete and accurate scientific report 25–32
 describe the relevance and reliability of the gathered data
 use scientific terminology and principles
 acknowledge sources appropriately

 develop a question for scientific investigation

 demonstrate sound knowledge and understanding of the science or chemistry of
neutralisation reactions, acid/base reactions, titration outlines the procedures
required to handle and dispose of organic substances
Sound
 presents some information relevant to acid/base reactions and titrations to explain
the application questions 17–24
 presents a complete scientific report with some inaccuracies
 describe relevance or reliability of the gathered data
 use some scientific terminology
 acknowledge sources

 develop a hypothesis for investigation

 demonstrate basic knowledge and understanding of the science or chemistry of
the neutralisation reactions, acid/base reactions, titration and identifies the
procedures required to handle and dispose of organic substances
 states some information about acid/base reactions and titrations in answering the Basic
application questions 9–16
 presents a scientific report with several inaccuracies
 outlines the relevance or reliability of the gathered data
 use limited scientific terminology
 acknowledge some sources
Students: Range of
Marks

 states a question for investigation

 gathers some relevant information about the acid/base reactions and the use of
titration
 present an incomplete Scientific Report that relates to the titration of vinegar for the Limited
ethanoic acid content using a neutralisation reaction with sodium hydroxide 1–8
 uses some scientific terms
 attempts to acknowledge some sources

 No attempt

Summary of Marks
Total Mark Percentage (%) Rank
Student Mark

Teacher Comments
……………………………………………………………………………………………………....

…………………………………………………………………………………………………........

……………………………………………………………………………………………………....

…………………………………………………………………………………………………........

……………………………………………………………………………………………………....

……………………………………………………………
Feedback: Student
I think I demonstrated proficiency in these areas of the assessment:

I think I need to work on these areas for future success:

My plan for achieving success in these areas is to:

Feedback: Teacher
You demonstrated proficiency in these areas of the assessment:

You need to work on these areas of the assessment in the future:

Some ideas to help you achieve success in these areas include:

 Discussion

This discussion will evaluate the importance of assessment. It will also examine the approaches
to feedback and determine its importance for both students and teachers. The idea of
assessment design will also be discussed with reference to the Year 12 Chemistry Assessment
that has been designed for Module 6: Acid/Base Reactions, from the new Chemistry syllabus
for NSW schools. These areas will be discussed with particular focus on how they inform teacher
practice in Stage 6 Science, particularly in Chemistry.

In order to evaluate the importance of assessment, one must first understand what the term
refers to. ‘Assessment’ is defined as “the process of gathering, analyzing and reflecting on
evidence to make consistent and informed judgements about student learning” (Woolfolk &
Margetts, 2012 pp. 502). By definition, therefore, assessment is crucial in a school setting as it
measures student learning and therefore can be used to improve it. Assessment can be used
for many purposes. Firstly, it can be used to aid student learning when related to outcomes and
can also be used by teachers to make judgements regarding the students’ level of achievement
(Woolfolk & Margetts, 2012). Woolfolk and Margetts (2012) go on to further explain that
assessments are vital for teachers as they can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of their
programs and inform decisions about future teaching and learning.

There are different types of assessment that are all highly valuable and used to inform teacher
practice. The assessment designed for this task can be classed primarily as a Summative
assessment as it occurs towards the end of a unit or period to determine the students progress,
learning and development (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2012). That is not to say that assessments can
be categorized so neatly, as they overlap in purpose and function. Formative assessments differ
from Summative ones, as they occur throughout the teaching period with the purpose of
assisting in the planning of future learning, diagnosis and self-monitoring (Woolfolk & Margetts,
2012). Although this task is a summative one, it still provides students with feedback which is
usually a feature of formative tasks (NESA, 2017). It is used to provide evidence of the students’
achievement from this module but the addition of the feedback also enables it to allow students
to develop their learning.

Summative assessments are the ones that become public and are pivotal as they are used for
reporting can affect decisions about future learning (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2012). They are
generally referred to as assessments of learning, and are those that are a measure of what
students know or have achieved at a certain time (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2012). However,
formative assessments can be considered as more important in teaching practice as they are
used to adjust instruction and improve student learning (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2012). There is
much debate in educational circles regarding the importance of formative and summative
assessments but recent discourse suggests that both types of assessment should be used to
support each other (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2012).

The effectiveness of assessments is also addressed by Tomlinson and McTighe (2006). These
authors suggest that for teachers, formative and diagnostic assessments are of more value in
measuring student learning compared to summative assessments. This is because by the time
the summative tasks are distributed and evaluated at the end of certain teaching points, it is
too late to change the student learning (Tomlinson and McTighe, 2006). Unlike this, for the
formative and diagnostic assessments teachers are better able to determine student learning
as they go and can therefore use the feedback from these assessments to impact student
learning (Tomlinson and McTighe, 2006).

As assessments play such a critical role in teacher practice, assessment design is another central
area in education that informs teacher practice. Wiggins and McTighe (2005) refer to a three
stage Backward process as part of the Understanding by Design Framework to guide
assessment design. The first stage of designing the assessment is to identify the desired result,
i.e. what do the students need to learn. Stage two is to determine the evidence for assessment
which means that teachers must develop ways in which to fairly assess student learning based
on the goals from stage one. The third stage is when teachers will plan the learning activities to
help students attain the goals set in stage one and demonstrate this as part of stage two. The
reason for designing assessments in this way is that it aims to support the success of a diverse
group of learners while addressing the outcomes of the unit (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). This is
an important concept for teachers to implement into their practice. The attached assessment
has been designed in this ‘backward’ model to maximise its effectiveness.

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) lists assessment as having several important
purposes in Stage 6. Assessments are designed to assist student learning, to evaluate the
effectiveness of teaching programs and as evidence of student achievement (NESA, 2017).
However, assessment is more effective and valuable when students are involved in the process
of setting the learning goals and when they understand the learning criteria (NESA, 2017).
Moreover, assessment is more effective when the students are able to self-monitor and reflect
on their progress and are given feedback to support their learning. NESA also endorses a
standards-referenced approach for assessing and reporting of student achievement in Stage 6
(NESA, 2017). This is advantageous for students as theoretically they can all achieve in the top
bands, as rather than being compared to other students as in norms-referenced standards, they
are judged against a set of clear outcomes (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2012). As seen in this
assessment the grading criteria is standards-referenced and the learning outcomes are made
very clear to help students achieve according to their own work or performance.

One of the key aspects of assessment design, and effective assessments is that they assess
different levels of performance and support the success of diverse learners (NESA, 2017).
Having standards-referenced assessment ensures that student work or performance is judged
against a clear criteria giving all students the chance to achieve at high levels (Fenwick, 2012).
Fenwick (2012) states that in Australia the use of standards-based and performance assessment
have been implemented to improve achievement levels for all students. However this author’s
research suggests that in following these reforms, some educators may be limiting their
students’ achievement whilst trying to differentiate learning tasks and assessments (Fenwick,
2012). Therefore teachers must implement into their practice a certain awareness of
differentiation to ensure that they are still allowing their students to reach the standards set
out in the grading criteria. This assessment has been designed to increase in difficulty
progressively, to allow all students a chance to complete it while meeting the set standards.

In order for assessments to be truly valuable, they must be designed in a way that ensures
fairness, validity and reliability (Woolfolk and Margetts, 2012). To create a fair assessment,
teachers must work to ensure that the students all know the expectations and the task does
not ask students to demonstrate skills that they have not been taught. Moreover, teachers must
strive to make sure that the task does not favour particular students over others (Woolfolk and
Margetts, 2012). In creating valid assessments, it is the teachers’ duty to design tasks that are
relevant and measure what they are intended to measure (Woolfolk and Margetts, 2012).
Lastly, teachers should design assessment tasks that are reliable in that they are marked
consistently and accurately depict the students’ performance (Woolfolk and Margetts, 2012).
Accordingly, this Chemistry assessment task has been designed with clear expectations of
students from the outcomes and is able to measure the achievement of those outcomes
consistently through the explicit marking criteria.

Feedback plays a vital role in student learning and teacher practice. In an educational context,
feedback refers to information provided by a proxy (whether a student, teacher, parent or self)
regarding one’s performance or understanding (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). Research has
shown that feedback is in the top 5-10 factors that can influence student achievement
(Hattie and Timperley, 2007). This shows that feedback is highly important in the
schooling contexts but Hattie and Timperley (2007) ascertain that some forms of
feedback are more powerful and effective than others. Feedback that showed the
highest effect was when students received information about how to complete a task
more effectively rather than feedback that is just praise or rewards (Hattie and
Timperley, 2007). Hattie and Timperley (2007) state that instruction and feedback
although separate should be used together. Teachers can benefit from implementing
this in their practice. As seen in the attached assessment task, the students will receive
feedback in several forms but most importantly they receive written feedback from the
teacher regarding what they did not to as well and how to improve upon this.

Effective feedback whether oral or written should relate back to the goal our outcome
and is specific whilst being positive (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2012). Teachers should use
feedback as a way to guide students to improve upon their performance in the future.
Therefore it can be seen that feedback is extremely valuable if it is constructive and
helps students to recognise what they have done well, their mistakes and how to build
their skills (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2012). For this assessment the students are also given
the opportunity to complete the student feedback for the teacher. This gives the
students a chance to reflect on and monitor their own performance, which is an
important part of effective assessment (NESA, 2017).

One of the main sources that inform teacher practice are the Australian Professional
Standards for Teachers, whose Standard 5 states, ‘Assess, provide feedback and report
on student learning’ (AITSL, 2014). Therefore, for teachers to reach basic professional
standards they must undertake steps to assess student learning in different ways,
provide appropriate feedback about student learning and make consistent judgements
when assessing student work for reporting. This standard shows the importance of
assessment and feedback to teacher practice, and why teachers must incorporate the
appropriate use of both in their practice.

This discussion has shown that assessments play a vital role in student learning and teacher
practice. It has also shown that the design of assessments are an imperative part of teacher
practice. The analysis of approaches to feedback has shown that it is crucial to student
development but only when it provides students with how to improve upon their performance.
Teachers must use appropriate assessment strategies and provide relevant and appropriate
feedback as part of their practice as they are crucial to assist student learning.
 References

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (2014). Australian Professional Standards for
Teachers. Retrieved from

http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers 09/05/18

Fenwick, L. (2012). Limiting Opportunities to Learn in Upper‐Secondary Schooling:

Differentiation and Performance Assessment in the Context of Standards‐Based
Curriculum Reform. Curriculum Inquiry, 42(5), 629-651.

Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational
Research, 77(1), 81-112.

NSW Education Standards Authority (2017). Assessment and Reporting in Chemistry Stage 6.
Retrieved from: https://syllabus.nesa.nsw.edu.au/assets/global/files/assessment-and-
reporting-in-chemistry-stage-6.pdf

Tomlinson, C. A., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction and understanding by
design : connecting content and kids. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Wiggins, Grant P., McTighe, Jay, & Association for Supervision Curriculum Development.
(2005). Understanding by design (Expanded 2nd ed., Gale Reference). Alexandria:
ASCD. Retrieved from:
http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7C9781416602255&v=2.1&u
=uwsydney&it=aboutBook&p=GVRL&sw=w 09/05/18

Woolfolk, A., & Margetts, K. (2012). Educational Psychology Australian Edition. Pearson Higher
Education AU.