UNDERSTANDING YOUR PLAN AND DESIGN

Planning and Design Experiments- P &D

What is a P & D?
A P &D is a planning and Design laboratory exercise. It gives YOU (the student) the opportunity to PLAN
and DESIGN your own experiment as you test a theory/hypothesis. It encourages a student to ask questions:
how, what, which, why or where.

It is meant to be
✓ ORIGINAL
✓ CREATIVE
✓ INNOVATIVE
✓ ACHIEVABLE (can be done within lab time)
✓ MEASUREABLE

This type of lab is a little different to what you are accustomed to. It includes some different sections.

You DO NOT have to carry out the experiment you plan.

However, it must be detailed so that anyone who wants to carry out the experiment must be able to follow
your plan and carry it out.

FORMAT / HEADINGS FOR A PLAN AND DESIGN

OBSERVATION / PROBLEM STATEMENT

HYPOTHESIS
AIM
APPARATUS AND MATERIALS
PROCEDURE
VARIABLES
EXPERIMENTAL CONTROL
EXPECTED RESULTS
EXPLANATION OF EXPECTATIONS
TREATMENT OF RESULTS
PRECAUTIONS
ASSUMPTIONS
SOURCES OF ERROR
LIMITATIONS

A plan and design must have these headings.

Let’s see what goes in each section.

OBSERVATION / PROBLEM STATEMENT:

This is usually given to you by the teacher. However it can also be something that you noticed. As the name
suggests it is an observation of an occurrence of interest or a problem that may need solving.

Eg. Dogs howl at the sound of the siren in an ambulance.

HYPOTHESIS:
A hypothesis is your proposed suggestion to explain why the observation occurred.
It is a tentative statement that gives a suggested, scientific reason for an observation and can be tested in a
lab.
The hypothesis must be plausible (make sense) and testable.

Why tentative?
It can be revised or improved later on.

It’s a suggested reason because after doing the experiment your reason be proven or rejected.

A hypothesis IS NOT a guess. It is a reasonable explanation based on scientific knowledge.

Eg. The sound frequency of the siren disturbs the dog and causes it to howl.

AIM:
The Aim MUST be related to the hypothesis and be able to test it.
The Aim must be written in the correct format and also linked to the method.

APPARATUS AND MATERIALS:

In this section you include ALL the apparatus and materials you would need to carry out the experiment.
This list MUST be complete. For Plan and Design experiments you can review your procedure and list the
apparatus and materials as you go through each step to ensure that you list everything.

PROCEDURE:
Your procedure is a step by step set of instructions to carry out the experiment.
The steps:
✓ Must be numbered.
✓ Must be in a logical sequence.
✓ Must be in Present tense or ‘instructional tense’.
✓ No personal pronouns.
✓ Must be detailed: labelling of specimen and apparatus, specific measurements of materials used and
specific time needed for the experiment.
✓ Must include several trials of the procedure to improve accuracy.
✓ Must include an experimental control sample to ensure accuracy.
✓ Must include how all materials are to be prepared.
✓ Must include titled diagrams of the setup of apparatus drawn after the steps in your method.
✓ Must describe how the manipulated variable will be varied.
✓ Must describe what specific observation or measurement will be observed to record as results. That
is what responding variable will be observed or measured.

VARIABLES:
In plan and design experiments we look at 3 types of variables which you must state using the sub-
headings:
Controlled (every feature that was kept the same)
Manipulated (the ONE feature you changed)
Responding (what measurements were recorded)

Controlled Manipulated Responding

Here you present a list of all Here you present the aspect Here you identify what
the aspects of the of the experiment that you measureable change
experiment that you must must vary based on your occurred due to your
keep constant. hypothesis. manipulation.
Eg. Ensuring all samples are PLEASE NOTE:
exposed to the same you can ONLY
environmental conditions MANIPULATE ONE
Or the specimen samples are VARIABLE AT A TIME
all the same size.
You can learn more about variables from the last page attached below.
EXPERIMENTAL CONTROL: this is the experimental set –up where the manipulated variable was absent.

EXPECTED RESULTS:
Describe the results you expect: must be CLEARLY described in words.
Include a method how the results are to be recorded or displayed: draw a table, graph etc. this display of
results must include the title, labelled axes etc.

EXPLANATION OF EXPECTATIONS:
Give a brief explanation of why you believe, based on scientific knowledge the results may be what it is.

TREATMENT OF RESULTS:
Here you copy and complete this statement using the different results possible, to explain whether your
hypothesis was proven true or false:

If________________________________occurs then the hypothesis is proven valid and accepted.

If________________________________occurs then the hypothesis is proven false and rejected.

Both Statement Must Be Included

PRECAUTIONS: These are the same as in other labs. Measures you take to ensure accuracy of results.

ASSUMPTIONS: There are certain parts of your procedure that you just expect to occur, either from what
you learned or experienced before. They are normally taken for granted. We must identify at least TWO.

SOURCES OF ERROR: These are the human errors likely to occur that can taint the accuracy of your
results. E.g. perception in differences in colour; timing; measuring; etc.

LIMITATIONS:
For this section identify the conditions that you were not able to control that may have affected the accuracy
of your results. These are usually areas where the method, theory or concept has imperfections and will not
always apply to all situations.

Adapted from M. Coard

Edited by Mrs. R.Beharry and Ms. J. Ramquar

What Is a Variable in Science?

Variables are an important part of science projects and experiments. What is a variable? Basically, a
variable is any factor that can be controlled, changed, or measured in an experiment. Scientific
experiments have several types of variables. The independent and dependent variables are the ones usually
plotted on a chart or graph, but there are other types of variables you may encounter.

Types of Variables

• Independent Variable: The independent variable is the one condition that you change in an
experiment.
Example: In an experiment measuring the effect of temperature on solubility, the independent
variable is temperature.
• Dependent Variable: The dependent variable is the variable that you measure or observe. The
dependent variable gets its name because it is the factor that is dependent on the state of the
independent variable.
Example: In the experiment measuring the effect of temperature on solubility, solubility would be
the dependent variable.
• Controlled Variable: A controlled variable or constant variable is a variable that does not change
during an experiment.
Example: In the experiment measuring the effect of temperature on solubility, controlled variable
could include the source of water used in the experiment, the size and type of containers used to mix
chemicals, and the amount of mixing time allowed for each solution.
• colours of papers were used. Ideally, this variable does not affect your outcome.

Using Variables in Science Experiment

In a science experiment, only one variable is changed at a time (the independent variable) to test how this
changes the dependent variable. The researcher may measure other factors that either remain constant or
change during the course of the experiment but are not believed to affect its outcome. These are controlled
variables. Any other factors that might be changed if someone else conducted the experiment but seemed
unimportant should also be noted. Also, any accidents that occur should be recorded. These are extraneous
variables.

Reference

• Earl R. Babbie. The Practice of Social Research, 12th edition. Wadsworth Publishing, 2009.