The  Dos  and  Don’ts  of  Science  Communica4on  

A  wall  display  or  presenta4on  for  students  of  all  ages.  

By  Chris  Paine  

h?ps://bioknowledgy.wikispaces.com/    

thing it Whatever  you  are  talking  about  be  it  an  organism,  substance,  process,  it  has  a    

Use  the  correct  term  or  you  may  not  be  understood.  

name ✔  

stuff

kill die Only  organisms  and  cells  can  ‘die’.  If  it’s  not  alive  you  can’t  kill  it.  

dead

the  enzyme  has  been     denatured enzymes    

nutrients  into  small  soluble  molecules  

breakdown

The  immune  system                                                                                            viruses  destroys

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You  probably  meant  to  say:  

amount •  Mass •  Length •  Volume •  Concentration •  Time

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got bigger … increased in: •  Mass •  Length •  Volume •  …

✔  n.b.  always  use  a  qualifier,  what  increased?  

the line went up Positive correlation

✔  Did  you  mean  to  say  that  the  graph  shows  …  

“As the concentration of starch increased so did the rate of reaction”

Give  a  specific  example  as  well:  

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Repeats =

Reliability

(or  an  increase  in  sample  size)  

Accurate =

How close to the true value your measurement is. For example a pH meter is more accurate than pH paper.

Precision =

If you repeat your test are you likely to get the same, or almost the same result? If so it is a precise measure.

“Using the information in the table …”

Use or refer the information in the table to when answering the question

means

Draw means draw AND

label •  Use  a  pencil  •  Use  a  ruler  for  label  lines  –  no  arrows  •  Draw  outlines  –  don’t  shade  

change Whatever  you  are  talking  about  a  change  you  need  to  iden4fy  whether  it’s  …  

increase ✔  

decrease ✔  

Get the same person to do measure the experiment each time

Change the method so anyone can take the measurements

If  people  judge  the  results  differently  it’s  because  the  method  is  not  rigorous  enough  

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“I poured 25cm3 of water into the beaker”

Add 25cm3 of water to the beaker

All  scien4fic  wri4ng,  especially  the  method,  should  be  done  in  the  third  person,  i.e.  the  passive  voice  

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Independent Variable

= Is the factor you are investigating. When discussing it you are going to: •  Change it •  Manipulate it •  Control it

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Control Control Variable

Is  an  experiment  in  which  the  independent  variable  is  not  present.  It  is  used  to  provide  evidence  that  the  independent  variable  is  causing  the  observed  effect.  For  example  if  tes4ng  how  effec4ve  a  drug  is  at  trea4ng  an  illness  then  the  control  group  would  not  be  given  the  drug.  

= Is  a  variable  that  remains  unchanged  or  is  held  constant  to  prevent  it  effec4ng  the  outcome  of  the  inves4ga4on,  i.e.  to  keep  it  a  fair  test.  

1. Collect all the equipment

Not  needed.  You  have  already  men4oned  the  apparatus  list  earlier  in  the  method  and  it’s  obvious  you  will  collect  the  equipment  before  you  use  it.  

“The nucleus is the brain of the cell” “The nucleus contains genetic information and controls the activities of the cell.” ✔  

To improve the investigation I would use a … •  Machine •  Robot •  Electronic meter

Use a correct name and state how it would be used ✔  

Speed Velocity

Speed  is  a  measure  of  how  fast  an  object  is  moving.  It  is  measured  in  metres  per  second,  wri?en  as  m/s.  

= Velocity  is  similar  to  speed.  It  is  also  a  measure  of  how  fast  an  object  is  moving  and  is  measured  in  m/s.  The  difference  between  velocity  and  speed  is  that  velocity  is  speed  in  a  certain  direc5on.  

Heat (thermal) energy Temperature

The  amount  of  heat  energy  that  a  something  has  does  depend  on  its  mass.  If  you  double  the  mass,  you  must  double  the  heat  energy  to  heat  it  to  the  same  temperature.  

= Temperature  is  a  measure  of  the  kine4c  energy  of  the  par4cles  (the  faster  they  are  going,  the  ho?er  they  are).  Temperature  does  not  depend  on  the  mass  of  the  substance  (how  many  par4cles  there  are).  

Mass Weight

Mass  is  just  a  measure  of  how  much  ma?er  a  body  has.  For  this  reason,  your  mass  is  the  same  on  Earth  or  the  Moon,  or  even  in  space.  It’s  measured  in  grams  or  Kilograms.  

= Weight  is  the  force  due  to  gravity  ac4ng  on  a  mass.  It  is  measured  in  Newtons    weight  (N)  =  mass  (kg)  ×  gravity  (N/kg)    

substance •  Ion •  Element •  Compound •  Molecule •  Mixture •  Alloy

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✔  Even  be?er  give  the  name  of  the  element,  alloy  etc.  

Respiration happens in cells

Breathing happens in the lungs

CO2 ✔  CO2

When  wri4ng  chemical  formula  be  careful  that  you  use  the  right  nota4on,  subscript  and  superscript  where  appropriate.  

Measuring scale ✔  Balance

Each  piece  of  equipment  has  a  correct  name,  use  it.    

Spoon ✔  Spatula

“The reaction got faster”

“The rate of reaction increased” ✔  

“The amps went up” “The current increased by 1.5 amps”

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Change  should  be  talked  about  in  terms  of  the  quan4ty  not  the  unit  of  measure  

10 Newtons

10 newtons ✔  10 n 10 N ✔  

If  a  unit  is  named  a`er  a  person  when  wri?en  in  full  it  is  not  capitalised,  if  abbreviated  then  it  is.  

10 Grams

10 grams ✔  10 G 10 g ✔  

If  a  unit  is  not  named  a`er  a  person  when  wri?en  in  full  it  is  not  capitalised  in  full  or  when  abbreviated  

Rate =

Speed

A  rate  measurement  is  of  a  quan4ty  or  change  happening  in  a  given  4me  period.  The  unit  should  always  include  4me,  e.g.  “per  sec”  or  “per  hour”  

All graphs need …

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0# 0.2# 0.4# 0.6# 0.8# 1# 1.2#

y,axis#labe

l##(u

nit)#

x,axis#label#(unit)!

#The#effect#of#[x,axis#label]#on#[y,axis#label]#

x-axis label is often a description of either the independent variable or a measure of time

The graph title, as a minimum, should refer to both axis labels. The y-axis is a description

of the results, it is often the dependent variable

Data points should be marked either by x or +, but not dots

Unless stated otherwise a best fit line/curve should be drawn to describe the trend. The line should: •  Go through the

middle of the data points (gaps above = gaps below)

•  Start inline with the smallest x-value and extend no further that the largest

•  Does not have to go through 0, 0

The scale on both axis should be regular, e.g. each small interval between gridlines on the y-axis should have the same value

Straight line It is a straight line but is it … •  Vertical? •  Horizontal?

It is a straight line, but does if have … •  Steep gradient? •  Shallow gradient?

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Comparing trends When comparing trend lines on a graph use the same x-axis value and quote/discuss the difference in the y-values: “when the temperature is at 25 then the enzyme activity of green is greater (12 units) than that of of blue (7 units) by 5 units.”

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25  

12  

7  

Temperature  (oC)  

Enzyme  ac4vity  (arbitrary  units)  

Particle diagrams ✔  

solid  

liquid  

gas  

Should  have  the  same  number  of  par4cles  as  a  solid,  just  as  closely  packed,  but  randomly  arranged  to  show  that  it  is  fluid  

Fewer  par4cles,  random  placed  to  show  the  very  low  density  

Par4cles  need  to  be  touching  and  in  a  repea4ng  arrangement.