SCIENCE COURSEWORKS

A SCIENCE COURSEWORK GIVES AN EXPERIMENTAL ANSWER TO A

QUESTION

• A science coursework should be thought as an answer to a question (a problem). This

answer must be a rational one and based on evidence. This evidence can be first hand
evidence (e. g. laboratory work or field work) or second hand evidence (using data
collected by other people and published elsewhere).

• Be sure your question can be answered: never choose such broad topics as:
“Electromagnetic Fields”. You may not be able to work seriously on such a problem.
You must also be sure that your hypotheses can be tested scientifically: “Do angels
have a sex?” is obviously not a proper question

• Some examples of questions to be asked are the following:

Has this winter been rainier than the last five winters?
Is a plastic rod a better heat conductor than a rubber one?
How many different species of grass grow in my garden?
How does the absorbent power of different diapers compare?

• After the problem has been posed, you must find evidence to try an answer to it. To
answer the first question in the examples, you should look for information (second
hand or secondary sources) because you probably don’t have a record of the last five
winters’ precipitations! The second and fourth questions can be answered carrying
out a series of experiments at home or in the lab. The third one needs a field work; you
should divide your garden in sectors that have to be carefully examined for different
species, collect samples etc.

• Once the evidence (data) has been collected, has to be critically analysed,
avoiding any previous ideas about the suspected results (pre-judice).

• This analysis will drive you to a conclusion or “final result”.

A SCIENCE COURSEWORK SHOULD BE CARRIED OUT IN STEPS

• Once you have chosen a problem you should think the general strategy to be
followed to answer it. Just a general idea to consult and discuss with your teacher.
He/she will decide about the feasibility of your investigation and give you hints to
make things easier and ensure the validity of your procedures.
• Once you have decided with him/her the method to be followed go on and work by
yourself.
• Look for some theoretical and/or practical information in which you can base your
work.
 • Be careful to write down the sources you use. These sources must be properly
quoted in your coursework.

• Meet (at least twice) with your teacher to show him how things are going on: keep a
folder with all your notes, Internet downloads, photocopies from books, etc. Take care
to have all this stuff in order.
• Carry out your experiments carefully. Show your teacher your conclusions together
with the evidence so that you can both discuss whether everything is OK or needs to be
re-checked.
• Then organise your data and conclusions
• Present a draft copy so that formal errors can be corrected and your teacher can give
you some final ideas, or see if there are some parts that require extra work, that should
be emphasised, or perhaps cut out.

A SCIENCE COURSEWORK HAS A DEFINITE STRUCTURE

• A coursework should have a Front page in which the title, author, form (level)
teacher , school and date should be correctly and orderly shown. A separate page shows
a model of it.
• The second page (or the last one) is an index of contents (introduction, experimental,
charts, conclusions, bibliography).
• The coursework itself should be divided in four parts:

 A brief introduction in which some background information, opinions etc

are presented and the question to be investigated is posed.

 A detailed description of the methodology used (bibliographic search,

experiments, procedures, etc.). In case of experiments a detailed account
for every step should be informed so that anyone who wants to test the
results can do it.

 Tables, charts, drawings, photographs, etc. come next.

 Finally, the analysis, discussion of results and conclusions close the

coursework.

• Consulted bibliography must be quoted properly. A separate page will show you
how to do it.

A SCIENCE COURSEWORK IS NOT AN ART COURSEWORK OR A POEM:

FORMAL ASPECTS

• A science coursework should be typed in black ink, Times New Roman (preferably),
Arial, or other non-fantasy typing. Letters should have the standard size (12 for
 Times New Roman or 10 for Arial, Verdana etc.) of your computer. Adequate margins
should be kept and pages must be numbered. Texts should be “justified”.
• Grammar and spelling will be evaluated specially in the Front page, so use your
dictionary or the computer’s corrector. British English should be used.

GRADING

A maximum of 3 (three) grades will be given for a coursework. Coursework assessment

will be divided in three parts and each part will be worth a full credit:
(1) Procedure: choosing the topic, discussing with the teacher, finding information, etc.
commitment
(2) Contents: the experimental work itself, charts, plots, photos, drawings etc.
(3) Presentation: spelling, wording, grammar, Front page, index, etc.

REMEMBER THAT A COURSEWORK IS NOT JUST COPY-PASTING

INFORMATION IN A RUSH JUST ONE OR TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE
DEADLINE SO THAT YOU PICK SOME TENTHS OF A CREDIT TO GET TO
THE REQUIRED MINIMUM. ……………………………………………………………
TITLE
“INVESTIGATING ABOUT NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS
ACIDITY”

BY

AUTHOR
JOHN GATORADE

SUBJECT
PHYSICAL SCIENCE II

LEVEL: M-1 FORM: 8TH E.G.B.

SCHOOL AND DATE

BEDE’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL AUGUST 2001

SOME POSSIBILITIES FOR A SCIENCE COURSEWORK

The following is a list (by no means complete) of possible topics to be covered by

science course works.

1. LIGHTFASTNESS OF DIFFERENT DYESTUFFS ON DIFFERENT FABRICS

2. FASTNESS OF BLACK DYESTUFFS WASHED WITH DIFFERENT SOAPS

3. OPTIMISATION OF CRYSTAL GROWTH

4. WILL INCREASING CONCENTRATIONS OF DETERGENTS ALWAYS LEAD

TO A BETTER PERFORMANCE?

5. WATER ABSORPTION OF DIAPERS

6. GAS (WHICH?) AND SUGAR CONTENTS IN FIZZY DRINKS

7. BODY RESISTANCE AND AGE

8. HOW MUCH OF A SOIL IS ORGANIC

9. WATER HARDNESS

10. DO DETERGENTS AFFECT PLANT GROWTH?

11. RELATIVE AMOUNTS OF VITAMIN C IN ORANGE JUICES