BTEC APPLIED SCIENCE STUDY PACK BTEC Applied Science Skills Handbook Name: UXBRIDGE COLLEGE 1 | P a g e Contents Contents ............................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Understanding Assessment .............................................................................................................................................. 4 What is considered when assessing assignments? ....................................................................................................... 5 Time Management and Organisational Skills.................................................................................................................... 6 Learning to prioritise ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 Planning for study and work ......................................................................................................................................... 7 Writing Skills ...................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Technical Writing .......................................................................................................................................................... 8 Chemical Formulae ................................................................................................................................................... 8 Units, Powers of Ten and Rounding .......................................................................................................................... 8 Scientific Writing ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 Structuring a Scientific Report ........................................................................................................................................ 15 1. Abstract ............................................................................................................................................................... 15 2. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 15 3. Hypothesis ........................................................................................................................................................... 16 4. Materials ............................................................................................................................................................. 16 5. Methodology ....................................................................................................................................................... 16 6. Results ................................................................................................................................................................. 17 7. Discussion ............................................................................................................................................................ 18 8. References and Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 18 Presenting Data ............................................................................................................................................................... 19 1. Tables .................................................................................................................................................................. 19 2. Titration Tables ................................................................................................................................................... 19 3. Graphs ................................................................................................................................................................. 20 4. Diagrams ............................................................................................................................................................. 21 2 | P a g e 5. Calculations ......................................................................................................................................................... 22 Carrying out Practical Work ............................................................................................................................................ 23 Reliability, Validity and Accuracy ................................................................................................................................ 23 Variables ...................................................................................................................................................................... 24 ................................................................................................................................................................................. 24 Risk Assessments ........................................................................................................................................................ 25 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................................................... 28 Evaluations ...................................................................................................................................................................... 29 Common and Useful Errors and Improvements ..................................................................................................... 30 Research .......................................................................................................................................................................... 32 How to Research ............................................................................................................................................................. 34 Using Search Engines Effectively ................................................................................................................................. 34 Operator AND ............................................................................................................................................................. 34 10 Scholarly Search Engines to Use ............................................................................................................................. 35 How to Reference ........................................................................................................................................................... 36 What is referencing? ................................................................................................................................................... 36 4 | P a g e Introduction BTEC Nationals have a learner-centred approach to the national curriculum, and as such, focus on the holistic development of practical, interpersonal and thinking skills that are required in Higher Education and employment. For all careers, you need the following skills: • Good communication • Effective interpersonal skills • Ability to work as a member of the team • Ability to lead a team • Strong time management and organisational skills This handbook is designed to support you throughout your course, and contains general guidelines to help you complete your assessments successfully. Understanding Assessment You can expect a range of assessments throughout your course, including examinations, set tasks, laboratory reports, practical work and research projects. You will have the opportunity to develop a range of transferable skills, including effective writing, analytical skills and reading scientific and technical texts. You need to be aware of the following: 1. Standards laid down by BTEC 2. How these standards are achieved in different assessment formats and activities 3. What will gain you credit and what will lose you credit in assignments 4. The need to adapt your learning style and approach to develop different skill sets Important to know 5 | P a g e BTEC teachers are restricted by the regulations in the amount of guidance they can give you about your assessment. This may include restricting the number of times that you can present your work for pre-assessment comment or guidance. What is considered when assessing assignments? Each subject and topic will be different, with varied nature and content. Three things are common to all subjects: presentation; structure; and content. These apply regardless of whether the assignment is a written report or a presentation. If the presentation of your work is poor, this will distract the assessor; similarly, if the structure is poor, this will distract the assessor. These two negatives will make it difficult for the assessor to evaluate the actual content you have prepared correctly, and may lose you valuable marks. For each assignment, it is worth asking the following key questions about your work before submitting it: