P5.2—Planning methods and apparatus

A complete practical plan states the aim, apparatus, labelled arrangement, quantities and concentrations, independent and dependent variables, controls, hazards and how results will be recorded and analysed.

Choose instruments whose range and precision suit the measurement, vary one factor at a time and define how the dependent variable will be calculated. Include enough points to reveal the predicted trend.

For a rate–concentration study, specify a gas syringe or mass-loss method, constant temperature and total volume, a concentration range, repeat runs and a rate calculation from the initial gradient.

A list of apparatus is not a method: it must explain what is changed, what is measured and how the data answer the aim.