Year 9 Science · AC9S9I02

Plan and conduct valid, reproducible investigations

Design investigations so the evidence answers the question: control important variables, repeat appropriately, identify error sources, manage risk and ethics, and respect…

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Key conceptTeach from the board

Validity asks whether the investigation actually tests the intended relationship. If two important variables change together, causation becomes difficult to interpret. Reproducibility asks whether others can obtain compatible results using the described method. More repeats do not repair a fundamentally invalid design.

Errors should be anticipated. Random variation causes readings to scatter; systematic error shifts readings in a consistent direction. Risk controls reduce likelihood/severity of harm. Ethical requirements protect people, animals and environments. Work involving Country/Place, cultural heritage or community knowledge may require permission and respectful protocols; scientific curiosity does not override those responsibilities.

Worked examplesWe do

Worked examples

AC9S9I02 - Plan and conduct valid, reproducible investigations
Example 1

Identify the confounding variable in a supplied method.

Example 2

Rewrite one vague step so another group could reproduce it.

Example 3

Classify a zero-offset balance as systematic error and reaction-time variation as random error.

Example 4

Add one risk control and one ethical/environmental consideration to a field investigation.

Curriculum examplesCopied content

Australian Curriculum v9.0 — AC9S9I02: valid, reproducible investigations including error, risk, ethics and relevant cultural protocols.

Victoria Levels 9–10 — VC2S10I02:Exact.

NSW Stage 5 — SC5-WS-03 and SC5-WS-04:Exact designs and conducts safe, ethical, valid and reliable investigations.

LessonAC v9VictoriaNSW
Planning/control/riskDirectDirectDirect WS-03
Conduct/reproducibilityDirectDirectDirect WS-04
Questions and answersWith answers
  1. What makes an investigation valid? Its design isolates/tests the intended relationship closely enough to answer the question.
  2. What makes it reproducible? Methods are clear and conditions/data collection are sufficiently specified for others to repeat.
  3. What is a systematic error? A consistent bias that shifts measurements in one direction.
  4. Why include ethics/protocols? Valid science must also be conducted responsibly and with appropriate permissions.
Practice and reviewReady for practice
  • More repeats make any experiment valid. Repeats improve confidence in consistency, not a confounded design.
  • Error means someone made a mistake. Measurement uncertainty and variation are normal features of data.
  • Safety is a form completed after writing the method. Controls must shape the method.
  • Permission is unnecessary if the purpose is scientific. Ethics and cultural protocols constrain acceptable methods.
Curriculum alignmentStart here
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