Teaching experimental

design
Year 7 Integrated Curriculum
What is an “experiment”?
• In school, “experiment” is often used
to describe hands-on experiences
What actually is an
“experiment”?
• A science experiment tests a
hypothesis
Components of an
experiment
• Background research
• Aim
• Hypothesis
• Equipment
• Types of variables
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
Background research
• Every experiment starts with a topic
of interest (Eg. What are the effects
of ocean acidification on living
things?)
• Background research finds out what
we already know about the topic
Aim
• Always starts with “To”
• Tells the reader what the
experiment aims to do
• Eg. To find out how
ocean acidification
affects the shells of living
things
Hypothesis
• A prediction of the results based on
the background research
• Example – The more acidic the
ocean is, the quicker the shells of
ocean invertebrates will dissolve

If A happens then B will happen

Equipment and Method
• List the equipment used in
the experiment
• Method lists how to do the
experiment in steps
• Always starts with a verb
• Accompanied by a
scientific diagram where
appropriate
Types of variables
• Independent variable – What we change on purpose (Eg.
how acidic the water is)

• Dependent variable – What we measure as the result

(Eg. How much shells have dissolved after 3 days)

• Controlled variables – What we keep the same to keep

the experiment fair (Eg. The amount of acids and water;
the type of shell; the temperature of the environment)

• In most experiments there is ONE independent

variable, ONE dependent variable and many controlled
variables
Types of variables -
Strategies
• Cows Moo Softly
– Change one thing
– Measure one thing
– Keep everything else the same
 Controlled variables vs
control

3M HCl with 2M HCl with 1M HCl with Water with

shell shell shell shell

•Independent variable - concentration of acid

•Dependent variable – how much each shell dissolves
•Controlled variables – time of experiment, amount of
acid and water, type of shell
•Control – the water with shell
Validity and reliability
• Validity – Is the experiment testing
what you intend to test?

• Reliability – Are these results a

fluke? If I repeated the experiment
again, will I get the same results?
Replication
• You shouldn’t just have
one beaker of 3M acid, one
beaker of 2M acid, etc.
• You need 5 beakers of
each acid so that there is
replication.
• Replication increases
reliability.
• You’ll need to use average
calculations.
Results
• A table and graph must be
done
• A graph shows patterns
that cannot be seen easily
in a table
• It’s usually a choice
between a column graph
or a line graph
• X-axis = independent
variable
• Y-axis = dependent
variable
Discussion – analysis of
results
• What do the results mean?
• Are the results expected? Are
there any usual results?
• What were some possible
sources error?
• How can the experiment be
improved?
• What are some other
experiments to do in the
future?
Conclusion
• The aim written in past tense and
says whether the hypothesis is
correct
• Eg. The effects of ocean acidification
on shells were determined. The
more acidic the water, the faster
shells dissolve. The hypothesis was
correct.