Extended Practical Investigation Scaffold (EPI) 2021

Investigator: Name Date:

SECTION ONE: EXPERIMENT DESIGN

TITLE: (1 mark)
The title says what you did. It should be brief (aim for ten words or less) and describe the main point of the
experiment or investigation.

AIM: (2 marks)
What is the overall aim or intention of the experiment? What independent and dependent variables are
involved in the experiment? Include units.

BACKGROUND: (4 marks) What research supports the scientific theory of your investigation? What
secondary sources support your investigation? The background must be in depth in terms of scientific
explanations.

HYPOTHESIS: (2 marks)
What do you predict is going to happen in the experiment? What is your scientific reasoning that makes you
think that this is going to happen?
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: (2 marks)
What is the independent variable? How is it being changed? What are the units and range?

DEPENDENT VARIABLE: (2 marks)

What is the dependent variable? How is it being measured? What are the units?

CONTROL VARIABLES: (2 marks)

What are the important control variables in this experiment? How will they be controlled or kept consistent?

Why do they need to be controlled or kept constant? Think of at least 5.

APPARATUS and MATERIALS: (2 marks)

List of all the resources you will use, including equipment and consumable materials. Make sure you list units
of measurement where appropriate.

Include size, quantities and concentrations.

METHOD: (2 marks)

Write a logical, clear sequence of numbered steps which describes the process that you will use to carry out
the experiment. Each step should begin with a verb and be written in the third person.

DIAGRAM: (2 marks)
Pencil drawing (2D) or photograph that shows how your experiment will be set up. Remember fully labelled
and ruled lines.

RISK ASSESSMENT (SAFETY): (2 marks)

List any possible hazards associated with this experiment and appropriate control measures that have been
taken to promote a safe experiment and environment.

ENVIRONMENTAL & ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: (2 marks)

What are the environmental and ethical concerns and what precautions have been taken.
SECTION TWO: DATA ANALYSIS

RESULTS TABLE: Quantitative Data (2 marks)

Data has been correctly recorded in the appropriate table.

You may use the table template below (IF APPLICABLE) or design your own table to record your data.

OBSERVATIONS: Qualitative Data (2 marks)

Record any additional observations that you noticed (i.e. sounds, visual changes, smells, etc.) during the
experiment.
CALCULATIONS: (2 marks)
Finding the mean of the trials is a good way to show the overall trend in the data. This can be done by
calculation of averages.

For any calculations show an example of how you did the maths and explain why it is useful

GRAPH: (9 marks): Appropriate graph drawn including title that includes the independent and
dependent variables, appropriate scale, axes labelled correctly with units and line of best fit. Graphs must
also be a suitable size so that they can be used to interpreted data from.

You can hand draw or use Google Sheets/ Logger Pro to create a graph that is appropriate for the data type.

SECTION THREE: ANALYSIS, EVALUATION & DISCUSSION

This is where you describe in words what the data means. This section contains numbers. This is where you
interpret the data and determine whether or not a hypothesis was accepted. This is also where you would
discuss any mistakes you might have made while conducting the investigation. This section should be
thorough and detailed. Use your scientific knowledge. Be sure to refer to figures and graphs in your report.

ANALYSIS:
Paragraph 1: What trend/relationship/pattern is found in your results (2 marks)

Paragraph 2: What values on your graph support these trend/relationships/patterns? (2 marks)

Paragraph 3: How do closely do your data points fit your line of best fit? (2 marks)

Is there a definite trend? Is there a correlation between your independent and dependent variable?

Paragraph 4: Did you have any anomalous results? (2 marks)

Paragraph 5: (4 marks)

Give a scientific explanation for the results obtained.

Compare results to the referenced secondary sources. Are your results supported by your data?

EVALUATION:
Was this experiment a fair test? Explain why it was or was not in your opinion.
-If you were to do this test again, what changes could you make in your method to reduce errors or
inaccurate data?

Paragraph 1: Measurement errors (4 marks)

Identify the errors in measurement how it affected the results and what could be done to improve the
collection of data. You may create a table with similar headings to the one below or write sentences.

Errors in measurement can be made by human or by the instrument used to take the reading?

Examples of human errors:

Examples of instrumental errors in collecting the data

Paragraph 2: Reliability (2 marks)

How reliable was the data collected; comment on the variation within the data collected for each increment
independent variable. What improvements could be made to the data collection? State what they are and how
they would improve the experimental design.

Paragraph 3-5: Validity (6 marks):

-Was the range of independent variable chosen wide enough to show a trend?

- How effectively were the controlled variables controlled to ensure a fair/valid experiment was conducted?

- What were the impacts of uncontrolled variables on the data collected and what improvements could be
made to the collection of data?
CONCLUSION (3 marks):
Did the experiment answer your aim?

Was your hypothesis supported or rejected? Why or why not?

OTHER (3 marks):
-Have you used consistent scientific terminology, decimal points/chemical formulae and communication of
the written report?

The report is relevant, concise and easy to read

-Is the bibliography correctly constructed following the school’s referencing policy (Harvard style) with in-
text referencing?