Practical skills for A Level

In this chapter, you will learn to:

• Define a problem within a specific context, including making a prediction and formulating a hypothesis.

• Plan an investigation to test a hypothesis or explore a problem by identifying the independent and dependent variables, and listing key variables to keep constant.

• Explain how to vary the independent variable, measure the dependent variable, and control key variables.

• Describe the use of control experiments in the investigation.

• Outline a logical sequence of steps for conducting the investigation, including identifying potential risks and ways to minimize them.

• Explain how to prepare solutions expressed as percentage (mass/volume) and in mol/dm³.

• Evaluate the reliability of results by identifying outliers, examining data spread, and applying statistical measures such as standard deviation, standard error, or 95% confidence intervals.