|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Lab Report Format | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| You should use the passive voice in your Lab Report. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Heading | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The top right of your report should have your name, below that should be your partner's name and the date. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The next thing to put on the report is the Title of the experiment. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Body of the Report | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purpose | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The first section of the report is the Purpose. Please label all sections of the report by placing the word Purpose, etc. on the left on a separate line from the body of the Purpose or in the center of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Purpose explains what it is that you are trying to prove or discover by doing this particular experiment or set of experiments. It is an important part of the lab report because it tells the reader what to expect as the report continues. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Purpose should be directly related to the Conclusions section which will be explained later on. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Procedure | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The second section should be the Procedure. It is this section where you describe the experiment(s) done to prove or investigate the things laid out in the Purpose. It is not necessary to list the materials and apparatus used but those materials should be mentioned in the course of explaining the procedure. For example, in the Law of Definite Composition lab it would not be sufficient to simply state that the "magnesium was heated". A complete description would include the fact that the magnesium was in a crucible and that it was heated with a flame from a burner. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Observations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| After the Procedure section comes the Observations. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The observations may consist of Data Tables and/or descriptions of what you actually observed as the experiments were being run. Measurements must follow the rules for significant digits, that is, the digits that you are certain of plus one more estimated digit! The Observations should not contain any explanations, explanations are Conclusions and do not belong here. Observations should simply consist of what you saw!! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Calculations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Calculations come next,however, not all labs will have calculations. You must be aware of the significant figures rules and the results must have the proper units of course. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Graphs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Graphs section is next and like the Calculations section may not be found in some experiments. You must follow the rule that the Independent Variable belongs on the x-axis while the Dependent Variable should be on the y-axis. Be sure that you do not play "dot to dot" when drawing the curve. Instead you should draw the smoothest curve that comes closest to the data points on your graph. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conclusions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The last section, and to me the most important section, is the Conclusions. The Conclusions are directly related to the Purpose. Start the Conclusions with an introductory paragraph about the concept that you are investigating in the lab. For instance in the Law of Definite Composition lab, the first paragraph might include a statement about what the Law states. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The ensuing paragraph(s) would now discuss whether or not you proved what it was you were trying to prove as stated in the Purpose. Defend these statements by referring to your Observations, Calculations and/or Graphs. Explain any sources of error that might have resulted in poor results here as well. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The last paragraph should be devoted to a summary of what was or was not proven by your work. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||