Assignment Task:
Task:
Assessment Task 3 is a full scientific report detailing and discussing the results obtained from one of the laboratory sessions held this semester. The format for this paper will be a general ‘IMRaD’ report template (details below).
Choose from ONE of the following lab sessions:
Week 1: Chemical Rocket
Week 3: A Simulated Martian Soil
Week 5: Constructing and Using a Spectroscope
Week 7: Biological Systems and Adaptations
Week 9: Food Contents Analysis
Week 11: DNA Extraction and Gluten Analysis
Your task is to write a scientific report based on the results obtained in one of the lab sessions listed above, reflecting the content usually incorporated into scientific papers. The task is an individual assessment item and will be written in your own words, incorporating appropriate referencing. This will allow you to complete the process of a scientific inquiry and to demonstrate foundational knowledge in a core science discipline (either biology, chemistry, mathematics, biotechnology, ecology, food or biosecurity) through written communication and interpretation of scientific results.
Structure / Content Requirements
The lab sessions thus far in SCI 113 have introduced you to most elements of a scientific report, including an Introduction (background, aim / purpose), Methods (a detailed procedure) and Results (data). The ‘questions for discussion’ section at the end of each lab provides a basic idea of what type of content is required in a formal Discussion section. This task will complete your exposure to the IMRaD format usually used by writing a complete report.
The Scientific Report submitted should have the following subheadings and adhere to the following content structure:
Title (including your name and SID number).
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
List of References
Appendix
Specific formatting requirements:
Size 12 font (Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri etc)
Minimum 1.5 spacing
A4 page size, 1cm left margin, left or block justified.
Word limit 2000 (+/- 10%; not including references, appendices and abstract)
Please use the grammar and spell checker!
Report Requirements / Marking CriteriaA total of 100 marks will be available; each section’s weighting is detailed below.
Title. (3 marks)
Brief yet specific; exactly what was studied? Don’t be too vague; if you choose the Chemical Rocket lab, a nice title might be something like “A Comparison of Acid / Base Propellant Volumes and Propulsive Forces Achieved in a Chemical Rocket”…..
Abstract (7 marks)
The abstract shows the reader in just a few sentences the entirety of your paper. An abstract should include your basic research question, a very brief description of the method you used to collect the data and importantly, a very basic conclusion of results. In other words three items; what you did (2), how you did it (2) and what you found (3).
Introduction (10 marks)
The purpose of the introduction is to provide a brief rationale of why the research was conducted, some background and a statement of purpose for the paper. You should also detail the extent of current knowledge, and include references from the scientific literature. For our purposes the introduction should provide a little background, state what your research question / hypothesis is and explain why the project is of interest / concern. (Make sure you have relevant references and they actually pertain to the study)
Methods (5 marks)
Do not list materials.
The methods section for each of the lab sessions would be too long and would exhaust your word count. Therefore, for THIS ONE TIME ONLY (!) you may write under the ‘Methods’ sub heading:
“As per SCI 113 Discovering Science Laboratory Manual (Davies, 2021)”
Please include the author and year in text, with the full citation in the reference list; Author (Davies, P.); Year (2021); Full title (SCI 113 Discovering Science Laboratory Manual); Publisher (University of the Sunshine Coast).
Results (25 marks)
The results section shows all the relevant findings from the research. You should present a summary of the data generated (summaries belong in the results section; the raw data – each observation – should be included in the appendix); these should be achieved by the presentation of tables and/or graphs (full standalone titles), with written text before the figure / table that refers the reader to particular results that provide an indication of trends, consistencies, comparisons between treatments, anomalies etc. While you may state basic trends, you must not interpret or explain the result in any way. This is what the discussion is for!
Discussion (35 marks)
Is the most important section of your paper, where the results are discussed in light of your original purpose.
The most important function of the discussion is to explain the result you obtained and provide supporting evidence for your explanation using references.
This is the crucial part of the discussion, where you must EXPLAIN WHY you obtained the results you did. Many students merely restate the results or gloss over this and go straight to sources of error; the secondary function of the discussion is to explain errors or suggest improvements. Why did you obtain the results you presented and can you support these explanations with references? All the lab sessions illustrate basic scientific processes! Explain the process that led to your result in scientific terms. Try to incorporate the actual reactions or processes that took place on a molecular / cellular level, and why there were differences in the observations made (ensure you refer to specific results and use supporting references throughout).
For example:
Week 1 – Why did the rocket achieve different heights / velocities?
(explain the chemical reaction in detail, in terms of reaction efficiency and molar ratios and why the reaction would produce more / less thrust)
Week 3 – Why did you observe differences in biomass between soil treatments?
(explain the physical / chemical / biological differences in the soil treatments in detail and why the biological component in particular leads to more / less growth)
Week 5 – Why did you observe different emission spectra for each element?
(explain the differences in the grounded / excited state of atoms and their relationship to the colours observed and the differences at an atomic level between elements which provide different emission spectra)
Week 7 – Why did the Euglena exhibit a different appearance and response between the light and dark environments?
(explain the different environmental adaptations of the organism and the actual cellular changes of the organism from phototrophic to chemotrophic mode)
Week 9 – Why did the different concentrations of the sucrose solution refract the light at a different angle?
(explain the differences in refraction of light through different media and when using the different apparatus and detail the different sugar concentrations that exist in different foods)
Week 11 – Why was there variability in the length of PCR product obtained from the food / meat samples and why did the gluten test appear positive / negative?
(Explain the genetic dissimilarities between the organisms tested on a molecular (genetic code) level and why these may be used to differentiate animal products. Yes, this is the most challenging one!)
If any trends / consistencies / anomalies were identified, can you explain why these phenomena occurred? What evidence can you provide to support your interpretations / conclusions? Did your findings concur with other studies and support the same conclusions? You MUST provide references from the literature in order to compare your results to the established theory.
After providing an explanation of the results, you then proceed to potential sources of error and suggest how these may be limited / eliminated if you repeated the experiment. Did the outcome meet with expectations, or were there any mishaps or unforeseen events which affected results? How could these problems be reduced or eliminated if you had to repeat the research? How could the study be improved?
You should also include a final single paragraph as a conclusion; wrap it all up!
YOU MUST use and refer to specific results; Detailed explanation of results inc. appropriate references (25) (if simple statements as to why variability exists then expect a low score!); Comparison to other similar studies (5); Potential sources of error (3); Limitations / improvements (2)
Reference List (10 marks)
Full alphabetical list of complete citations, including a diversity of sources (journal articles and secondary sources, not just internet sources; use Wikipedia, blogs and anonymous web pages at your peril!)
Appendix (5 marks)
Raw data (all individual observations should be included here); remember to include the appropriate measurement units, and titles for all. MAKE SURE you refer to anything included in the appendix in the relevant section in-text
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