Assignment Brief: Practical Experiment Design and Scientific Report Writing

Demonstrating the concept of a fair test and gathering valuable scientific data

1 Demonstrate the concept of a fair test and how to gather scientifically valuable data (Part 1)
2 Interpret current scientific research and use it to develop and design scientific experiments (Part 1&2)
3 Critically analyse relevant scientific research and apply statistical methods to produce an evaluative report in the style of a scientific paper (Part 2)
4 Competent experiment design to answer scientific questions (Part 1)
5 Good laboratory practice when carrying out a scientific experiment (Part 1)

I confirm that this work is my own. Additionally, I confirm that no part of this coursework, except where clearly quoted and
referenced, has been copied from material belonging to any other person e.g. from a book, handout, another student. I am aware
that it is a breach of Westminster Kingsway College’s Regulations to copy the work of another without clear acknowledgement and
that attempting to do so renders me liable to disciplinary procedures. To this effect, I have uploaded my work onto Turnitin and
have ensured that I have made any relevant corrections to my work prior to submission.

Assignment Brief
Choose one of the following scientific questions relating to a food process and try to find an answer by
carrying out a scientific experiment.
- The effect of salt on the respiration rate of yeast
- The effect of sugar on the foaming ability of egg white foams
- The effect of acid on the gelling conditions of agar
Part 1 – practical experiment. 50% of overall assessment grade (LO 1,2,4,5)
You have 1 week of allocated class time to carry out your experiment, and marks will be allocated for the experimental plan (50% of the marks), and the ability to carry out the experiment in a scientific way (the remaining 50% of the marks).

The total marks for this part are 100, which will be divided into 2 and used towards your final grade

Part 2 – experimental write up. 50% of overall assessment grade (LO 2,3,6)
For your assessment you will need to write up the findings of your experiment in a scientific report (total marks 100, which will be divided into 2 and used towards your final grade).
? Abstract (5%)
? Introduction (20%)
? Materials and Methods (15%)
? Results and discussion (25%)
? Conclusion (15%)
? Presentation and formatting (20%)

Guidance Notes:
? You are expected to make reference to a wide range of academic sources and organise these using the Harvard Referencing system
? Some aspects of your work may be assessed during 1-to-1 discussions during class sessions and may be treated as part of the assessment process.
? This assessment is an academic exercise therefore all sources and e-resources used must be acknowledged appropriately using the Harvard System of referencing.
? Please note that all feedback will be subject to ratification at the validating University Subject Board,and all assessment may be subjected to a viva voce.
You will be notified of the outcome of your assignment within 3 working weeks after the submission deadline,not including college holidays of bank holiday.

Interpreting current research to design scientific experiments

Final Documents
? You must sign the Statement of Authorship below to confirm that the submission is your own work Any evidence of collusion or plagiarism could lead to an automatic failure which would require a retake of the module. An electronic copy must be submitted to Final Submission on Turnitin.
? Your assignment must be typed in 12pt Ariel or Verdana font with 1.5 spacing. Each page must have as a footnote: your name, ID number, page number and submission due date.
? Late work will not be accepted, and you will receive a fail for your work, and an alternative assignment will be given.
? The final piece of work must be uploaded onto the Turnitin link on Moodle with enough time for the system to accept it on the due date. The system sometimes takes longer than normal to accept reports (from 30 min up to few hours).
? The final assignment will be graded and your electronic copy on Turnitin will be used for reference only.
? Referencing will be checked on the report as Turnitin only checks similarities.
? Should you have difficulty using the system, you must contact ICT helpdesk or your lecturer immediately (leaving this until the last minute is unacceptable). It is YOUR responsibility to upload your own work and last minute IT issues will not be considered as mitigation.
? You must not upload your work onto another person’s account. If this happens, your submission may not be assessed, leading to a fail.
? You are required to agree to the Turnitin usage policies when you first access the Turnitin website Full information regarding the Turnitin service, including privacy, copyright and fair usage can be found on Moodle at the Turnitin Student Help section.

? Plan and carry out an experiment that addresses a scientific question
? Present a report summarising the experiment In addition to the above, for a student to achieve 40 – 49%, they must:
? Submit a report with information under each section
? The experiment has been planned and carried out In addition to the above, for a student to achieve 50 – 59%, they must:
? Report is written coherently, in scientific manner
? Previous scientific studies have been considered when writing the report
? Carry out the experiment in a scientific fashion In addition to the above, for a student to achieve 60 – 69%, they must:
? Evidence of further reading apparent on reading the report
? Carry out the experiment in a scientific fashion, with careful consideration of variables and controls In addition to the above, for a student to achieve 70%+, they must:
? Report written in a highly scientific way, with clear evidence of extensive further reading
? Experiment carried out in a highly scientific fashion, with extremely thorough consideration of all possible variables and controls.