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Writing Formal Lab Reports
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All labs must be
written or typed and be submitted to the teacher in a pocketed lab notebook
(2'', 3-ring binder with pockets).
Always use third person (no personal pronouns) when writing all parts of a lab report. A cover sheet
with the lab title, your name, date, and period should be stapled to the front
of the lab report. Place the lab report in the front pocket of the Notebook. When
typing your report put lab headings and lab questions in bold type (underline
when writing). Use Times New Roman font 12 point only and only 1" margins. Include a floppy disk or
CD with your lab report in your lab folder.
Your lab report should be written using the following format: (Be sure to left align & bold headings)
Title
The title should
indicate clearly & concisely the subject and scope of the report.
Introduction
The introduction should
give background information about the experiment. It should also state the
purpose of the investigation.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis should
be a single statement telling the exact thing you are trying to prove in your
experiment. Never write this statement using "first person".
Materials
This section includes a list,
written in paragraph form, of all the materials and equipment
used. Be sure to include specific amounts and concentrations of chemicals used.
Methods
This section includes
one or more paragraphs explaining the step-by-step procedures
used. The description should be so thorough that someone else could use
your listed materials and procedures to conduct the same experiment & get the same
results.
Results
All data should be
collected and organized in a logical order. Results should be illustrated
as charts, tables, graphs, &/or diagrams. All graphs should include a title, the
independent variable on the horizontal axis, and the dependent variable on the
vertical axis. All lab
questions and answers should be included also with this section. (
Bold the questions & italicize
the answers)
Error Analysis
Include any important factors that
you think may have actually affected your results.
Discussion and
Conclusion
In this section, you
should interpret the collected data and relate it to the restated hypothesis.
Explain the significance of the results. If additional
research and experimentation is needed, explain in this section.