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Research Activity Sheet

Quarter 4 - MELC 2
Week 4-5
Writing a Simple Scientific Report

REGION VI – WESTERN VISAYAS

Research 7
Activity Sheet No. 2 - Writing a Simple Scientific Report
First Edition, 2021

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Introductory Message
Welcome to Research 7

The Learning Activity Sheet is a product of the collaborative efforts of

the Schools Division of Roxas City and DepEd Regional Office VI - Western
Visayas through the Curriculum and Learning Management Division (CLMD).
This is developed to guide the learning facilitators (teachers, parents and
responsible adults) in helping the learners meet the standards set by the K to
12 Basic Education Curriculum.

The Learning Activity Sheet is self-directed instructional materials

aimed to guide the learners in accomplishing activities at their own pace and
time using the contextualized resources in the community. This will also
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The Research 7 Activity Sheet will help you facilitate the leaching-
learning activities specified in each Most Essential Learning Competency
(MELC) with minimal or no face-to-face encounter between you and learner.
This will be made available to the learners with the references/links to ease
the independent learning.

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The Research 7 Activity Sheet is developed to help you continue

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meaningful and engaging activities for independent learning. Being an active
learner, carefully read and understand the instructions then perform the
activities and answer the assessments. This will be returned to your facilitator
on the agreed schedule.
Name of Learner: ________________________________________________________
Grade and Section: _________________________________Date:________________

RESEARCH 7 ACTIVITY SHEET NO. 2

Writing a Simple Scientific Report

I. Learning Competency with Code

Write a simple scientific report. (SSP_CSI-IV- v-x-23)

II. Background Information for Learners

An important practice in science is to carry out an investigation. In the

previous lessons, you have learned and understood the steps of the scientific
method in carrying out a systematic and logical scientific investigation. By
learning and applying the scientific method, you learned to make observations,
ask questions, formulate hypothesis, design an experiment, collect and analyze
data, interpret results, and draw conclusions.

Scientific investigations are demanding and exciting endeavors, but to

have an impact, results must be presented or communicated to others. But
how do you communicate the results of your investigations? Do you need to
write a scientific report? Yes, you have to write a scientific report and present
or share it in public.

A scientific report is a method of communication, an attempt to tell

others about some scientific data that you have gathered and what you think
those data mean in the context of your investigation. It is also a document that
describes the process, progress, and result or the state of a technical or
scientific research problem. It might also include recommendation/s and
conclusion/s of the research. The elements of a scientific report are title page,
table of contents, abstract, introduction, materials, and methods
(Experimental), results, discussion, conclusion, references.

So why are you writing this scientific report? The practical answer is you
usually hear is “because the teacher assigned it,” or “it is a requirement for
graduation”. These reasons are not valid because as a science student doing
research is one way to show what you learned in the classroom and applying
outside its walls. Generally speaking, people investigating any scientific
hypothesis have a responsibility to tell or report their findings, particularly if
those findings add to or contradict previous ideas.

The people reading such reports have two primary goals: a) they want to
gather the information presented, and b) they want to know that the findings are
legitimate. Thus, your job as a writer, then, is to fulfil these two goals.

Writing a good written report of a scientific investigation is just as

important as the experiment itself. You must ensure to follow the correct report
writing format. Here is the basic format scientists have designed for scientific
reports include: Introduction, Methods and Materials, Results and Discussion.

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 This format, sometimes called “IMRAD,” may take slightly different
shapes depending on the discipline or audience; some may require you to
include an abstract or separate section for the hypothesis, or call the
Discussion section “Conclusions,” or change the order of the sections (some
professional and academic journals require the Methods section to appear last).
Overall, however, the IMRAD format was devised to represent a textual version
of the scientific method.

Below, you’ll find a table that shows how each written section fits into
the scientific method and what additional information it offers the reader.

Section Scientific Description

method/ step

Introduction states your explains how you derived that

hypothesis hypothesis and how it connects to
previous research; gives the purpose of
the experiment/study

Methods details how you clarifies why you performed your study
tested your in that particular way
hypothesis

Results provides raw (i.e., expresses the data in table form, as an

uninterpreted) easy-to-read figure, or as
data collected percentages/ratios or in graphical forms

Discussion considers whether explores the implications of your finding

the data you and judges the potential limitations of
obtained support your experimental design
the hypothesis
Source: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/

Now, do you want to learn how to write a simple scientific report on

what you did in your previous investigation? Let’s do the activities that follow!

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I. Activities

Activity 1: Let’s Learn the IMRaD!

Directions: Read the sample scientific report written in IMRAD format below.
Identify and write the part of the report (Introduction, Methods, Results, And
Discussion) in the second column and explain the reason of your choice in the
third column. Write your answer in a separate sheet of paper.

Sample Part of the Explanation

Report
Bioplastics are manufactured from
renewable biomass sources rather than
petroleum and other fossil fuels
(Sinsermsuksakul et al., 2013). Bioplastics may
be a sustainable alternative to petroleum plastics
because they use fewer fossil fuels in production
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as they
biodegrade. Most bioplastics are currently made
from starch-based plastics or starch-polyester
blends. However, polylactic acid (PLA), a
thermoplastic aliphatic polyester typically
derived from corn starch, tapioca or sugarcane,
may become a more commercially viable option.
PLA resembles traditional plastic, making it
acceptable to consumers, and is able to be
processed on equipment already used for
petroleum plastics. PLA has been used for
biodegradable medical implants, packing
materials, diapers and 3D printers. However,
although PLA biodegrades under carefully
controlled conditions, it is not yet compostable
except in industrial composting facilities and
cannot be mixed with other recyclable materials.
This limits the commercial viability of PLA
because the infrastructure to transport bioplastic
waste to appropriate composting facilities has
not yet been developed. A device that composts
PLA and other bioplastics within a home
composting environment would make PLA a more
viable commercial option.

Sb-Doped SnS Thin Film.

Pure, stoichiometric, single-phase SnS thin
films can be obtained by atomic layer deposition
(ALD) from the reaction of bis(N,N'-
diisopropylacetamidinato)tin(II)
[Sn(MeC(NiPr)2)2, referred here as Sn(amd)2] and
hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Rather than using ALD as
previously reported, SnS thin films were
deposited using a modified chemical vapor
deposition (CVD) process, referred here as a
pulsed-CVD, to speed up the deposit rate to ~15
times higher than that of ALD…

3
 Sample Part of the Explanation
Report

Material Characterization.
Film morphology was characterized using
field-emission scanning electron microscopy
(FESEM, Zeiss, Ultra-55). The film thickness was
determined from cross-sectional SEM. The
elemental composition of the films was
determined by Rutherford backscattering
spectroscopy (RBS, Ionex 1.7 MV Tandetron) and
time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy
(ToF-SIMS)…

A.
Table 3 shows that Spam Filter A correctly
filtered more junk emails than Filter B. Filter A
correctly filtered 88% of junk emails whereas
filter B only filtered 63% correctly. However,
Filter A takes longer to run than Filter B. This
increased run time is due to the type of
programming language used in Filter A. These
findings overall suggest that Spam Filter A is a
better filter than Filter B even though it takes
longer to run.

B.
Fig. 3 shows that the electrical conductivity
of the Cu-doped ZnO is much lower than that of
the undoped ZnO. The electrical conductivity of
even the 100 ppm Cu-doped ZnO specimen was
about 3 orders of magnitude lower than that of
the undoped ZnO.
As the doped Cu content increased, the
electrical conductivity gradually decreased. As a
result, the 1000 ppm Cu-doped ZnO had the
electrical conductivity 5 orders of magnitude
lower than that of the undoped ZnO.

The data collected from this small study

suggests that verbal instructions are not needed
to complete a simple assembly task and may even
interfere with the task. The participants who
received words plus pictures made more errors,
took longer to complete the task, and were less
confident that they had completed the task
correctly than participants who received pictures
alone. One reason for this finding may be the
simplicity of the task since none of the guidelines
we examined suggest that textual information
would interfere with visual instructions.
Our study is hampered by the small
number and homogeneity of our participants. All
of our participants were college students and this
may have affected our results. Additional

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 Sample Part of the Explanation
Report
research might examine whether older
participants would benefit from verbal
instructions accompanying pictures. More
research is also needed examining different
tasks. Our study involved a highly physical task
(constructing a lego vehicle). Future research
should examine how pictures and verbal
instructions might interact on a more conceptual
task, such as installing and using a software
program.
Based on this limited analysis, we
recommend that instruction writers consider
excluding verbal instructions on a simple
assembly task. Our results indicate that verbal
instructions may in some cases interfere with
users’ abilities to follow pictorial directions.

Sample Source: https://www.cmu.edu/gcc/handouts-and-resources/handouts/imrd-

examples.pdf

Guide Questions:

1. Which part of the scientific report answer the following questions?

a. What does it mean? _______________________________________________
b. How can the problem be solved? ___________________________________
c. What is the problem? _____________________________________________
d. What are the findings? ____________________________________________
2. How do you effectively write the following parts of the scientific report?
a. Introduction _____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
b. Methods _________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
c. Results __________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
d. Discussion ______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3. In writing a scientific report, are you required to write in past tense?
Why?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

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Activity 2. Let’s Apply the IMRad!

Directions: Make a report on science investigation you had conducted (refer to

the recently finished Learning Activity Sheet) following the IMRAD format. You
may use the guide below in making your report. Write your answer in a separate
sheet of paper.

Part Purpose Verb Tense Elements

Introduction Provides rationale Present - refers • Nature and scope of problem
for the study to established • Review of relevant literature
knowledge in • Your hypothesis
the literature • Your approach used in this
study (&justification for this
approach) Principal results
• Main conclusions
Methods & Describes what was Simple past - • Description of materials
Materials done -- experiment, refers to work • Description of procedure in a logical
model, or field study done order, e.g., chronological order or
by experiment
• Sufficient detail so that procedure
can be reproduced

Results Presents the data, Simple past - • Your results

the facts -- what you refers to what • Your observations during
found, calculated, was found, experiments/field work
discovered, observed observed • Your observations about the
results (e.g., compare and
contrast between
experiments/model runs)
• Results of any calculations
Discussion Shows the Present - • using
Trends, the data, like rates
relationships, or
generalizations
relationships emphasis on error by the results
shown
among the facts Puts established • Any exceptions, outlying data (and
your results in context knowledge, WHY)
of previous research present results
• How your results agree/disagree with
previous studies and WHY

Conclusions Summarizes your Present - • Conclusions should relate back to the

principal findings emphasis on introduction, the hypothesis
what should Summary of evidence supporting each
now be accepted as conclusion
established
• Implications, the significance of your
knowledge
results or any practical applications
Source: https://www.scribd.com/document/359730641/IMRAD-Handout

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 II. Reflection

What do you think is the equivalent of a scientific report in your life?

Explain your answer.
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

III. References for Learners

The Writing Center, University of North Carolina (2020). Scientific

Reports. Retrieved March 31, 2021, from
https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/scientific-reports/.
Department of Education, Curriculum, and Instruction. (2020). Most
Essential Learning Competencies, K to 12 Curriculum. Research 1.
Scribd. (2017). IMRAD Format, What goes where? Retrieved March 25,
2021,
From https://www.scribd.com/document/359730641/IMRAD-
Handout.

IV. Answer Keys

Activity 1

Sample Part of the Explanation

Report
Bioplastics are manufactured from renewable biomass sources rather Introduction It explained what
than petroleum and other fossil fuels (Sinsermsuksakul et al., 2013). Bioplastics the problem is all
may be a sustainable alternative to petroleum plastics because they use fewer about and why it
fossil fuels in production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as they is necessary to
biodegrade. Most bioplastics are currently made from starch-based plastics or investigate it.
starch-polyester blends. However, polylactic acid (PLA), a thermoplastic aliphatic
polyester typically derived from corn starch, tapioca or sugarcane, may become a
more commercially viable option. PLA resembles traditional plastic, making it
acceptable to consumers, and is able to be processed on equipment already used
for petroleum plastics. PLA has been used for biodegradable medical implants,
packing materials, diapers and 3D printers. However, although PLA biodegrades
under carefully controlled conditions, it is not yet compostable except in
industrial composting facilities and cannot be mixed with other recyclable
materials. This limits the commercial viability of PLA because the infrastructure
to transport bioplastic waste to appropriate composting facilities has not yet
been developed. A device that composts PLA and other bioplastics within a home
composting environment would make PLA a more viable commercial option.
Sb-Doped SnS Thin Film. Methods It discussed how
Pure, stoichiometric, single-phase SnS thin films can be obtained by atomic the investigation
layer deposition (ALD) from the reaction of bis(N,N' was conducted.
diisopropylacetamidinato)tin(II) [Sn(MeC(NiPr)2)2, referred here as Sn(amd)2] and
hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Rather than using ALD as previously reported, SnS thin
films were deposited using a modified chemicalvapor deposition (CVD) process,
referred here as a pulsed-CVD, to speed up the deposit rate to ~15 times higher
than that of ALD…

Material Characterization.
Film morphology was characterized using field-emission scanning electron
microscopy (FESEM, Zeiss, Ultra-55). The film thickness was determined from
cross-sectional SEM. The elemental composition of the films was determined by
Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS, Ionex 1.7 MV Tandetron) and
time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS)…

7
 A. Results It presented the
Table 3 shows that Spam Filter A correctly filtered more junk emails than important findings
Filter B.1 Filter A correctly filtered 88% of junk emails whereas filter B only of the
filtered 63% correctly. However, Filter A takes longer to run than Filter B.4. This investigation.
increased run time is due to the type of programming language used in Filter
A.5. These findings overall suggest that Spam Filter A is a better filter than Filter
B even though it takes longer to run.

B.
Fig. 3 shows that the electrical conductivity of the Cu-doped ZnO is much
lower than that of the undoped ZnO. The
electrical conductivity of even the 100 ppm Cu-doped ZnO specimen was about 3
orders of magnitude lower than that of the undoped ZnO.
As the doped Cu content increased, the electrical conductivity gradually
decreased. As a result, the 1000 ppm Cu-doped ZnO had the electrical
conductivity 5 orders of magnitude lower than that of the undoped ZnO.
The data collected from this small study suggests that verbal instructions Discussion It summarized and
are not needed to complete a simple assembly task and may even interfere with explained the
the task. The participants who received words plus pictures made more errors, main findings of
took longer to complete the task, and were less confident that they had the study. It
completed the task correctly than participants who received pictures alone. One discussed flaws of
reason for this finding may be the simplicity of the task since none of the the study and
guidelines we examined suggest that textual information would interfere with used these flaws
visual instructions. as
Our study is hampered by the small number and homogeneity of our reasons to suggest
participants. All of our participants were college students and this may have additional, future
affected our results. Additional research might examine whether older research. It also
participants would benefit from verbal instructions accompanying pictures. More stated the
research is also needed examining different tasks. Our study involved a highly implications of
physical task (constructing a lego vehicle). Future research should examine how their findings.
pictures and verbal instructions might interact on a more conceptual task, such
as installing and using a
software program.
Based on this limited analysis, we recommend that instruction writers
consider excluding verbal instructions on a simple assembly task. Our results
indicate that verbal instructions may in some cases interfere with users’ abilities
to follow pictorial directions.

already reporting an investigation that happened in the past.

3. In writing a scientific report, you are required to write in past tense because you are
findings.
investigation with previous research as well as speculate on the explanations for such
d. Discussion should interpret the most significant results, compare the results of their
in graphs, figures or tables
c. Results should present the main data collected during your investigation presented
procedure can be reproduced
order, e.g., chronological order or by experiment, and sufficient detail so that
b. Methods should provide description of materials, description of procedure in a logical
clearly state the aim that the investigation is designed to address.
and motivation for the investigation, briefly explain relevant theory in sufficient detail,
a. Introduction should explain the nature and scope of the problem, provide the context
2. To effectively write the following…
d. Results
c. Introduction
b. Methods
a. Discussion
1.
Guide Questions Possible Answers:

Activity 2

Answers may vary.