Research question, hypothesis, a fair test with one variable, equipment list and a written safety assessment — detailed enough that someone else could repeat it.

• State the research question you are actually answering.
• Write a hypothesis that can be proved wrong.
• Name your independent, dependent and controlled variables.
• List equipment and quantities — the real ones, not the ideal ones.
• Write the method as numbered steps.
• Complete the safety assessment.
• Decide now how you will record the data.

Run the experiment and gather your primary data. All practical work is supervised by your teacher — data collected outside class cannot be used.

• Run the experiment in supervised class time only.
• Record raw data as you go, in pen, in your log.
• Note every deviation from the plan and why.
• Repeat runs so the result is not a one-off.
• Photograph the setup — images count towards your 20.

Present your data in tables and graphs, analyse the pattern and the sources of error, then draw conclusions that answer your research question.

• Build clean data tables with units.
• Draw graphs — axes labelled, units stated, scale sensible.
• Describe the trend in words before you explain it.
• Identify sources of error and what each one did to your result.
• Write conclusions that answer the research question directly.
• State the limitations honestly — it earns marks.

Full draft in for feedback on 4 Dec, then revise. Final pass: 1,500 words max, 20 images max, Arial 12pt at 1.5 spacing, references complete — including any AI use declared.

• Full draft handed in for feedback on 4 December.
• Act on every comment you get back.
• Check the word count — 1,500 words maximum.
• Check the image count — 20 maximum.
• Apply the formatting rules exactly (see below).
• Complete references, and declare any AI tool use.
• Proofread it aloud. You will hear what you cannot see.