Basic template of Science Experiment

AIM: The aim of the experiment is to discover if ...... / how .. affects ...
RESEARCH QUESTION: Does the …………………….. affect the …………………….. when you …………………………………….?
e.g. Does the distance from the flame affect the time taken for the wax to melt when you heat the metal rod?
HYPOTHESIS: (say WHAT you THINK WILL HAPPEN and explain WHY you think this) VARIABLES (these are the things which can change the results of your experiment)
INDEPENDENT this variable is the ONE YOU CHANGE a little every time you repeat part of your experiment; e.g. first you time it 5cms from the flame, then 10 cms, then 15cm…so DISTANCE FROM THE FLAME is your INDEPENDENT VARIABLE)
The data from your independent variable goes on the X –axis (the bottom line of your graph)
DEPENDENT
this variable is the ONE YOU MEASURE every time you repeat part of your experiment; e.g. 5 seconds, 5.7 seconds, 6.3 seconds … so TIME is your dependent variable)
The data from your dependent variable goes on the Y –axis (the vertical line on the left of your graph)

CONTROLLED these are all the things which can change your result so that your experiment does not show/prove anything…so you have to CONTROL these i.e. MAKE SURE these ARE EXACTLY THE SAME in the WHOLE experiment. e.g. how much wax you put on the end of the metal rod.

APPARATUS: Make a LIST of all the things you USE in the experiment e.g. some wax, a tripod, a Bunsen burner..
DIAGRAM: (Draw a 2-D diagram using pencil and ruler)

METHOD: (write down exactly WHAT YOU DID, in the SAME ORDER you did it)
• First ...
• Next .....
• Then ...
• Afterwards
• Finally
RESULTS: (Make a TABLE for your data - using pencil + ruler! Make sure you LABEL the rows & columns with HEADINGS and the UNIT OF MEASUREMENT in brackets. Choose the headings carefully so you do not have to keep repeating the same information ) THEN .. present your information as a: LINE GRAPH – remember to use the x-axis for the independent variable and the y-axis for the dependent variable , BAR CHART, PIE CHART .... or calculate the AVERAGE VALUE .. whatever makes it easy to see what the results show you)

CONCLUSION: (Say what the results have shown i.e. what they mean and explain why

EVALUATION: (Say what went well, what went wrong. Do all the results make sense or do any of them not fit in with the trend e.g. the number are all increasing except one which goes down i.e. look for unusual results and try to explain them. Say if there was anything you could do to make the experiment better? Is there any way you could make your results more accurate?)