preview

Flaws Of The Experimental Design

Satisfactory Essays

this in mind, a large portion of the difference in results is likely to be due to flaws in the experimental design. One key flaw was the data sample size, which was restricted by limited resources and time constraints. While five straight chain alcohols were tested over a spread of carbon chain lengths, only three other isomers chain length variants were available for use. By chance these three isomers all had carbon chain lengths that directly proceeded each other in a row. This meant that anomalies and individuals results would have had a larger impact on the trend line. Results were less accurate than the straight chain as individual results had a larger impact due to the smaller sample. Repeating each variable three times meant the results were more reliable than if just tested once, but in general the experiments showed a fairly large disparity between specific tests for the same variable. Theresults weighed down a particular end of the spectrum, and had a larger impact on the averages that were used for calculations. Due to this differentiation, for a credible result a larger number of tests should be done. As the carbon chain length increased another common problem experienced was incomplete reactions, which meant there was a lot of potential energy in the form of soot. This carbon substances has a significantly higher potential energy which is released when the carbon reacts into carbon dioxide, and therefore the incomplete reactions meant a lot of the heat energy

Get Access