When a question supplies a results table, your explanation should come from the numbers in it. Add the physics idea that explains the pattern, and leave out anything the question never told you.
This page is for students who describe too much, or too little, when a practical result is given. It is one of the help pages for SPM Physics.
What does this sound like?
A student might say, “The question showed a table, and I wrote that the spring got hot and stretched more slowly. I still lost the marks.” Or, “I know the experiment, so I described what happens in it.”
Both replace the evidence with memory. The marks are for reading the data, not for recalling the experiment.
What usually causes it?
Three academic habits explain it.
- The table feels like background, so the answer is built from the topic name instead of from the numbers.
- Observation and explanation are mixed, so an inferred cause is written as if it were seen.
- There is no standard pattern for linking a claim to a value.
A worked example
A class hangs loads on a spring and measures the extension. The original results are supplied.
| Load (N) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extension (cm) | 0 | 2.0 | 4.1 | 6.0 | 8.1 | 11.5 |
A data-based answer has three parts.
- Pattern: from 0 to 4 N, the extension increases by about 2 cm for each newton, so extension is proportional to load.
- Change: from 4 N to 5 N, the extension increases by 3.4 cm, which is larger than before.
- Explanation: the first part fits Hooke’s law, and the jump after 4 N suggests the spring went past its limit of proportionality.
This answer uses only the table and the physics idea. It does not claim the spring got hot or that anyone saw the coils change shape.
What can you do on your own?
Use a fixed frame for each claim: “From ___ to ___, the ___ changes from ___ to ___, so ___.” The numbers go in the blanks, and the last part is the physics idea.
Separate what the table shows from what you infer. Write “the table shows” for the first and “this suggests” for the second. Practise on graphs too, using reading physics graphs without confusing slope and area. The skill behind this is covered in distinguishing observations and inferences, and the units and significant figure checker helps you keep values tidy.
When might one-to-one tuition help?
This skill improves with feedback, because the error is in what you wrote, not in what you calculated. If your explanations still bring in details that were never supplied, or never quote numbers, the gap may be in how you read evidence.
A one-to-one teacher can mark a written answer against the table and show exactly which sentence went beyond the data. That is worth considering if practical questions are the section where your marks drop. See online one-to-one Physics tuition, or start with the one-hour trial class (from RM50).
What to read next
Sharpen how you read graphs in reading physics graphs without confusing slope and area.