Drawing Results Tables

Why this skill matters

Drawing results tables is explicitly tested on Paper 6 and carries 2-3 marks per question. Examiners apply strict rules: missing ruled lines, units in the wrong place, or inconsistent decimal places all lose marks. This is one of the easiest places to gain (or throw away) marks.

Method and technique

Structure

1. Draw a ruled border around the entire table (horizontal and vertical lines). A freehand box is not accepted.
2. The independent variable (what you change) goes in the first column (left).
3. The dependent variable (what you measure) goes in the second column or subsequent columns.
4. If repeats are taken, add columns for Repeat 1, Repeat 2, and Mean.

Column headings

Each heading must include:

• The name of the quantity (e.g., Temperature, Volume of gas, Time)
• The unit, separated by a forward slash (e.g., Temperature / degrees C) or in brackets (e.g., Temperature (degrees C))

Never write the unit in the body of the table next to each value. The heading tells the reader the unit once; the values are then numbers only.

Decimal places

All values in a given column must have the same number of decimal places, matching the precision of the instrument used:

Measuring instrument	Decimal places
Burette	2 (e.g., 23.50, not 23.5)
Measuring cylinder (100 cm3)	0 or 1 (e.g., 45 or 45.0)
Balance (2 d.p.)	2 (e.g., 3.20, not 3.2)
Thermometer (1 degree C graduations)	1 (e.g., 25.0, 25.5)

Example table

Volume of HCl added / cm3	Temperature / degrees C
0.0	21.0
5.0	23.5
10.0	26.0
15.0	28.0
20.0	27.5

Common errors and how to avoid them

No ruled lines: Freehand lines or no lines at all lose the table-drawing mark. Use a ruler.

Units in the body: Writing “25 degrees C” in every cell instead of putting “degrees C” in the heading wastes space and loses the heading mark.

Inconsistent decimal places: Mixing 23.5 and 24.50 in the same column loses a mark. Decide the number of decimal places from the instrument and stick to it.

Missing headings: Columns without headings or with headings that omit units lose marks. Both quantity name and unit are required.

Too few rows: If the experiment needs 6 readings, the table needs 6 data rows plus the heading row.

Marking points examiners look for

• Ruled lines forming a complete grid
• Headings include quantity name and unit (separated by / or in brackets)
• Units appear only in headings, not in the body
• Consistent decimal places within each column
• Independent variable in the first column
• Sufficient rows for all data points