Scientific communication

A scientific report has these sections, but they are out of order: conclusions, aim and hypothesis, results, equipment and procedure. Put them in order and write one sentence about what is included in each section.

State which section of the report each sentence belongs to:

1. a) "We used two beakers, a measuring cylinder, a thermometer and a stopwatch."
2. b) "The salt dissolved faster in hot water."
3. c) "We wanted to test whether water temperature affects the dissolving of salt."
4. d) "The results support our initial hypothesis."

In a report table, the first column is titled simply "time" and the second simply "temperature". Rewrite both headings as they should appear in a scientific report, with the quantity and unit in brackets.

In an experiment on dissolving sugar, the following unordered data was obtained: at $40\ ^\circ\text{C}$ it takes $20\ \text{s}$; at $20\ ^\circ\text{C}$ it takes $60\ \text{s}$; at $60\ ^\circ\text{C}$ it takes $10\ \text{s}$. Organise them in a two-column table and write the heading for each column showing its quantity and unit.

A classmate hands in this table from a water heating experiment: the first column reads "time ($\text{min}$)" with values $0$, $5$ and $10$, and the second reads simply "temperature" with values $20$, $35$ and $50$.

1. a) What is missing from the second column heading?
2. b) Why is this mistake important?
3. c) Rewrite the column heading correctly.

A graph shows the height of a sunflower during the first three weeks of its growth. Look at the graph:

1. a) How tall was the sunflower in week $2$?
2. b) How much did it grow between week $1$ and week $3$?

List the three things every graph must have to be understandable: a title, the label of the horizontal axis (with its quantity and its unit) and the label of the vertical axis (with its quantity and its unit). Then, explain why drawing the line is not enough.

A graph shows how a cup of tea cools down: when poured it is at $70\ ^\circ\text{C}$; after $10$ minutes, at $50\ ^\circ\text{C}$; and after $20$ minutes, at $40\ ^\circ\text{C}$. Observe the graph:

1. a) How much did the temperature drop between minute $10$ and minute $20$?
2. b) Calculate how much it dropped in the first $10$ minutes and state in which of the two intervals it dropped more.

Here are the times for the $100\ \text{m}$ sprint of four friends: $14$, $16$, $15$ and $13$ seconds.

1. a) State the maximum and minimum values.
2. b) Who ran faster, the person with the maximum time or the minimum time? Explain why.

You want to see at a glance whether the swimming pool water heats up faster and faster throughout the day. What would you present: a table or a graph? Justify your choice.

A graph in a report has no title, the horizontal axis only says "time" without a unit, and the vertical axis has no label at all.

1. a) Point out all the mistakes.
2. b) Rewrite how that graph should be presented (full title and labels) if it shows how water is heated over $10$ minutes.
3. c) Explain the problem with interpreting a graph without units.