CHEMISTRY PRACTICAL SKILLS

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TERMS

Accuracy

MEANING Precision of a measurement, like significant figures. To ensure accuracy, use many significant figures, also use the appropriate equipment. If theres many zeros, use scientific notation (whole number x 10 to the power of whatever) IV: the one that doesnt depend on another; the one you change. DV: the one that is dependent on the independent variable; the one you measure.

Independent variable & dependent variable

Constant variable

Validity of first hand data

Reliability of first hand data

NB: if your experiments reliable, it doesnt mean its valid. And vice versa. The best result would be for reliable + valid.

The one you keep constant. In every experiment, measure 1 thing and change 1 thing. The rest are all constant variables. Are you measuring what youre saying? Does your experiment test your hypothesis? To ensure validity, perform calculations with no errors and see to it that the way you test the experiment will test and give correct results for the aim. Keep variables to a minimum. Whether or not you get the same result when you repeat the experiment. Are they consistent? To ensure reliability, ensure there are identical conditions when repeating. Eg. you repeat the experiment 10 times with the same conditions, and each time theres a big difference with results unreliable. If you repeat it 10 times with the same conditions and each result is quite similar reliable.

CHEMISTRY PRACTICAL SKILLS

zhao

Identify the risk explain why its a risk explain steps taken to reduce/eliminate the risk A popular one for both Biology & Chemistry is: - glassware. It can break/shatter causing flying shards. To reduce this, wear safety glasses and handle equipment with care. For chemistry: - Corrosive chemicals like acids + bases can cause damage to skin, eyes and so on. Handle with care to reduce the risk - Explosive substances like K and Na can undergo reactions producing much heat. Handle carefully - Radioactive substances/EM radiation can cause cancer. Ensure methods are taken to label radioactive substances with warning signs and store them in a layer of lead. Pencil and ruler, neat outline of equipment set up, no shading/colouring, horizontal labels preferred Appropriate heading indicating the IV & DV, neat columns drawn with ruler and units in the title Not necessary to start at (0, 0), should take up the whole space, the heading indicates factors and relationships being graphed. For axes, put units in brackets. Use crosses for points. Line of best fit, no need to connect the line to (0, 0). No superficial answers, like: Make sure the balance is more accurate. Answers need to be specific to the experiment. Focus on how the experimental design may limit validity/reliability. What are the errors? How can we reduce the impact? Enough repetition? Did the experiment allow us to measure what we wanted to measure? Was the dependent variable only influenced by the independent variable? What you did and why you did it

Risk assessment

Diagrams Tables

Graphs

How can the experiment be improved?

BOARD OF STUDIES VERB: JUSTIFY