Science Lab Report – Physical Science

GENERAL RULES

1. Always read the lab before the lab begins, paying careful attention to the procedure. Visualize your group doing the lab. Discuss possible sources of error, mistakes, or danger with your group and decide what will be done to avoid these things. Make a list of questions that your lab group wants to answer by doing the experiment.

2. The report must be done neatly. It may be to your advantage, especially if you don’t have very neat handwriting, to do portions of the lab report on a computer. This will also make it easy to edit and revise. Neatness and grammar will be counted as part of the lab report grade.

3. Everything should be written in third person. Think as if you are an outsider reporting on what your lab group did. Instead of saying, “We heated the solution to 90 degrees Celsius,” say, “The solution was heated to 90 degrees Celsius.” The pronouns I, we, you, our, my, mine, your, etc. should not be used. Write as if you are reporting on what was done, not as if directions are being given.

4. Take careful notes of everything done in the lab. Encourage your group members to ask questions about the topic being examined throughout the experiment. Some labs may take days and you may forget what happened by the time you write the report.

5. Be sure to include all the sections of the lab report in the order in which they are

listed below. Label all the sections of the lab report clearly.

OUTLINE

I. TITLE PAGE

This should include:

1. The title of the Lab

2. The Objective of the Lab (What are you trying to find out?)

This will usually be given in class by your teacher or on your lab sheets.

3. The Names of the Group Members

4. The Name of the Person Writing the Lab

5. The Date.

II. ABSTRACT

An abstract is a one paragraph summary which provides the reader with a clear, concise snapshot of what you did and what you found without having to read through all of our procedures, data, calculations, and conclusions. This should allow them to figure out whether it is important to them that they spend their time reading it. If your abstract proves to be interesting to the reader, then they can continue reading for further details of the experiment. The first sentence should state the main experimental objective(s) of the experiment. Secondly, explain your hypothesis. The hypothesis is what you think will happen during the investigation. State it as an “If . . . then” statement. When you do an experiment, you will be changing one condition, or variable, and observing and measuring the effect of this change. The condition that you are changing is called the independent variable and should follow the “If” statement. The effect that you expect to observe is called the dependent variable and follows the “then” statement. Also describe your constants (the conditions you keep the same throughout the trials of the experiment) and your control, if you had one. This should be followed by a summary of the methods used to accomplish the objectives, but should not include procedural details. In conclusion, state the results of the experiment and indicate how well the objective was accomplished. Don’t say, “This experiment was successful,” because that is subjective. Instead you could say, “This experiment showed that objects of different sizes and masses fall at the same speed as predicted by theory.” Be sure that the abstract could be read and understood even if the rest of the lab report wasn’t available.

III. PROCEDURE

This is a description of how you made your measurements. Write as if you are reporting on what was done, not as if you are giving directions for someone else to do the experiment. List the materials that were needed in order to complete the experiment. Describe possible areas of danger and what was done to avoid danger. List the steps that were followed in the lab. Be sure to identify your independent and dependent variables as well as your constants and control in detail. Include important details about the instruments and materials that were used. If this is done well, someone should be able to pick up this section of your lab report, conduct the lab on their own, and get the same results.

IV. DATA

List the information received through the procedure. Often times, a table or chart is a good way to organize the data. Be sure all the information is clearly labeled. Also list observations that were made by your group members as the experiment was done.

V. CALCULATIONS

Show your math work and label each number. Pay attention to significant figures and rules of rounding. Don’t include any conclusions.

VI. RESULTS

This section can usually be one paragraph. In the first sentence, restate the results of the experiment. To do this explain what your data and calculations mean. In so doing, explain how your results compare with the theory you were trying to prove and/or your prediction/hypothesis. Secondly, indicate the quality of your results by explaining things that may have caused any errors in your data such as inaccurate measurements, poor equipment, humidity, etc. Explain how those things may have affected your data and calculated results. To do this well, you must take careful notes of all error or suspected errors as you carry out the experiment.

VII. QUESTIONS

Make a list of questions that you and your group still have or that you thought of as you were performing the experiments. Be sure that you encourage your group members to ask questions throughout the lab. Also try to answer the questions.

VIII. SELF EVALUATION

Explain what grade (example - B+) your group deserves for this lab. Also explain why you and your group members believe you deserve that grade, listing both the things you did well and those you could have done better.

DATE __________________

GROUP MEMBERS

1. _________________________ 2. __________________________

2. _________________________ 4. __________________________

6. _________________________ 6. __________________________

OBJECTIVES ____________________________________________

________________________________________________________

POSSIBLE AREAS OF ERRORS OR DANGER

1. ______________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE _______________________________

DEPENDENT VARIABLE _________________________________

CONSTANTS ___________________________________________

CONTROL ________________________________________________________

HYPOTHESIS (Your prediction as to what will happen.)

PROCEDURES – List the steps followed during the lab.

1. ______________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________

4. ______________________________________________________

5. ______________________________________________________

6. ______________________________________________________

7. ______________________________________________________

8. ______________________________________________________

9. ______________________________________________________

10. ______________________________________________________

OBSERVATIONS – List things you and your group members saw, heard, smelled, and/or felt as you carried out the experiment.

1. ______________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________

4. ______________________________________________________

5. ______________________________________________________

6. ______________________________________________________

DATA, CALCULATIONS, & RESULTS - Use the back side of the paper

CONCLUSIONS

1. ______________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________

QUESTIONS – List questions that you’re group still has.

1. ______________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________

EVALUATION OF YOUR GROUP ____________________________
__________________________________________________________