How to structure your QCAA IA2 Chemistry student experiment report for top marks

The first step to acing the assignment is to break down the components of the report.

Breaking down the IA2 into each part:

Research Question (max 50 words)

Make sure your RQ is both relevant & specific.

• Clearly articulate your independent and dependent variables

e.g. “How does changing X affect Y?” or “The effect of changing X on Y.”

• Be specific when stating your variables.

e.g. “concentration” vs. “concentration of X solution at X location”

Rationale (300-400 words)

Your rationale should explain the logical sequence of how you reached your RQ.

Make sure that your rationale hits the following points:

• Must be relevant to YOUR research question
• Describe the concepts underlying your experiment (e.g. what are redox reactions; how do galvanic cells work)
• Include the relevant chemical equations
• Introduce your variables – what is the relationship between them?
• Provide the mathematical formula that describes this relationship

Modified method (100-150 words)

What modifications did you make so that the experiment could address your RQ?

• Define the type of modification – Were the changes made a redirection, extension or refinement of the OG method?  
• Explain the modification – What did you change? Include precise details such as changes to the number of trials conducted or concentrations tested.
• Justification – Why did you make these changes? Was it to increase validity, reliability or precision? If so, how do these changes do that?

For this section, I recommend using the following table headings.

Risk assessment (100-120 words)

For this section, briefly summarise the risks of conducting the experiment and what you did to manage these using the following table format!

Make sure to mention ethical and environmental risks in a brief paragraph. For example, the use of waste buckets for chemicals could be a control measure for environmental risk. If there are no ethical concerns, briefly mention this too!

Results (100-120 words)

The results section comprises of a few key parts:

1) Raw data

• A table containing your raw results – with no calculations!
• Should have a minimum of 5 variations (e.g. 5 different concentrations)
• Should have a minimum 3 trials per variation
  
• Include units, table headings & uncertainties
• Ensure your significant figures are consistent

2) Processed data – sample calculations

• A table containing your calculations for processing your raw data
• Give one example per data (e.g. 1 for uncertainty, 1 for concentration, etc.)
• See below for an example of how you should layout your table

3) Processed data – tabulated

• Table summarising your processed data
• This may include your mean, uncertainty of the mean, difference and % difference calculations

4) Main graph

• This graph shows the relationship between the dependent (y-axis) and independent (x-axis) variables.
• Make sure to label axis correctly + include units.
• Provide a line of best fit, including the equation + R-squared value of the line.  

Trend, patterns & relationships (150-200 words)

This is the part where you need to interpret the graph!

• Are there clear trends in the data?
• What is the equation of the trendline?
• Does it fit the data well (i.e. R-squared)?
• What is the relationship between the variables?
• Provide the mathematical term (e.g. is it linear?)
• Is there a proportional relationship?

Explicitly state the R-squared values, the equation of the trendline and the data points that fit or do not fit this trend in your interpretation. Try not to be vague!

Uncertainty and limitations (150-200 words)

• What were the uncertainty calculations?
• Are there differences between the theoretical and actual values?
• Why do you think these differences occurred?
• Were there limitations to the method that may have caused this?

Evaluation (300-400 words)

1) Reliability

• Was the uncertainty high or low?
• What does this suggest about the reliability of your results?

*hint low uncertainty = higher reliability

2) Validity

• How different was the expected/theoretical value from your experimental value?
• What does this suggest about the validity of your results?

*hint less difference = greater validity

• Maybe some things did go as expected – what were they?
• Were the modifications truly successful in allowing accurate measurements?

Improvements (50-100 words)

• Provide improvements that directly address the limitations of the experiment you just identified in the evaluation and analysis
• Did you see systematic or random errors? If so, what were they?
• How could you improve your method to prevent these from occurring next time?

Extensions (50-100 words)

• Provide a relevant extension that relates to your experiment
• Is there a different relationship you should investigate next?

e.g. changing the independent variable from concentration to temperature

• Can you extend your experiment to provide greater detail

e.g. expanding the range of concentrations

Conclusion (100-150 words)

Finally, it’s time for the conclusion!

• Restate the aim of your experiment
• Briefly summarise your RQ – what variables were you testing?
• Briefly state what your results showed – what was the relationship between your variables? What were the key findings?
• Support this conclusion with some evidence (e.g. best-fit equation + R-squared)
• Restate your hypothesis – what did you expect? Was the hypothesis supported?
• Briefly summarise some limitations

What does a top-mark IA2 look like?

A high-mark student experiment should cover of the following key criteria of the ISMG:

1. Research and planning
2. Analysis of evidence
3. Interpretation and evaluation
4. Communication

You should cover all components of each criterion to get the top marks.

For an in-depth example of what a high-level IA2 looks like, check out the annotated sample responses on the QCAA website.

I would recommend also looking at the mid-level sample response to see where they went wrong and ensure that you don’t make the same mistakes.

The QCAA responses are there to give you a guide, so take full advantage of them!

My personal tips & tricks

1. Start EARLY – I know it can be tempting to procrastinate, but starting early really gives you that advantage. It also helps prevent you from feeling overwhelmed and rushing parts of your assignment.
2. Highlight the criteria – Know what you are being marked on. Spend 10 minutes becoming familiar with what you need to cover. It’s easy to miss a key point in the criteria so make sure you know what not to miss!
3. Mark your own work – Now that you’ve highlighted the key parts of the criteria, try seeing where your IA2 matches! Self-marking using the criteria sheet is such a good way to see where you could improve, or conversely where you have already nailed it.
4. Don’t ignore formatting – Remember to follow the QCAA template for formatting. This includes using subheadings and figureheadings, accurately labelling graphs and data, having a neat appendix and making sure your work is readable. Try to make it easy for markers to follow the flow of your experimental write-up!
5. Find a tutor - If you feel that you need extra support or want someone qualified to help you reach those top marks reach out to one of our expert Chemistry tutors here at KIS Academics.  

Want more personalized study guidance to help drastically improve your marks? A private tutor can make the biggest difference!

Written by KIS Academic tutor for QCE Chemistry, Cyrah Finlayson. Cyrah is a recent Biomedical Science graduate from Monash University and is currently pursuing a degree in Psychology at UNSW. You can view Cyrah’s profile here and request her as a tutor.