Physics 422 General Expectations for Lab Reports

Labs should be stapled in the order listed below. Be sure to label each new section and either start it on
a new page or skip some space after the previous section so theres deliberate separation between them.
Procedure Sheet Fill in the heading completely: all participants names, course title, date started &
due date, labeled as such, and class period.

Data Collection and Calculations for this section of the lab, my expectations follow the general
idea that you are completing a lab report that is an independent, complete picture of what was
required. Think of it this way: if a non physics person got a hold of your write up, would they be
able to follow what had been expected of you and what you did to complete the lab simply by
reading your write up? If not, then you have not been thorough or clear enough in your
presentation.
o All measured values should be labeled with appropriate variables and units and a brief
description of the measured quantity should also be included. You may even choose to
include a sketch of the situation to show the location of the specific variables within the set
up of the lab.
o This is where you need to be very careful with significant figures.
1st in measuring: read to the precision of the tool, with 1 guess, as long as thats
appropriate for the situation of the measurement. If the situation is such that the
precision of the device is not appropriate, then decide was is, and use that
consistently.
2nd in calculations: for a product, your answer can have no more sig figs then the
least in your measurements. For a sum, the answers can have no more decimal
places than the least of your measurements.
o Any time the same measurement is being made multiple times, it should be placed in chart
form, with appropriate headings and units. If an average calculation is then required of the
measurements, this work should be shown to support where the average value came from.
o Many times the units you measure a particular quantity in are not appropriate for further
calculations and you need to do a unit conversion. Please be sure to show this work, with
appropriate conversion factors.
o Any calculations that need to be completed should follow the steps of One Way to Show
Work handout. Any identical calculations performed on just a different set of numbers do
not need to show work, simply the given and the new answer will do.

Questions Answer any assigned questions using complete sentences, including the details of the
question in the answer.

Conclusion (Not required for every lab.) Discuss how well the purposes of the lab were met. What
can you conclude by drawing back to any results you got? Anything in particular that you realized
or learned? (Any Oh, I get it! moments?) When results are not what is expected, acknowledge
here and give specific reasons (often mistakes that were made) that may have lead to these results.

Reflection This is your chance to make comments to improve the lab for future physics students.
Anything that you particularly enjoyed? What were the problem spots? Ideas to improve it? Only
address what you want to here; Id really like to hear something, but this section is optional.

Additional Important Information

I usually allow students to pick their own lab groups, but reserve the right to do this as needed.

Students can turn in a lab report with everyone in their lab group, anyone in their lab group, or
alone, but that should be determined on the day the lab is preformed so there are no surprises for
any group members.

In a perfect world, all members involved in a lab report would be involved in the completion of the
entire report. As this might not be possible every time, please be aware that lab content is an
important part of this class and all students are responsible for understanding it as a whole, not just
the part or parts he/she may have worked on.

Aside: Please feel free to alert me to any member of a lab group who does not provide a reasonable
contribution to a lab report, as student may be required to complete his/her own lab reports until further
notice.

All names on the title page are held equally accountable for all parts of the lab, so be sure all
members proofread each others work before turning it in for grading. If it is a group lab, we is
the proper pronoun to use, not I, throughout the report.

Generally speaking, the lab write up should be neat and complete. It should look like a final
piece of work on clean paper, not a rough draft on scratch paper. That said, Id prefer they be hand
written and not typed they should be able to be completed during class time and they contain too
much math to make typing practical.

On the day theyre due, they should be ready to turn in at the start of class, as no time will be
allotted for last minute changes or finishes, or ordering the required items and stapling the
completed write up together. This should all be taken care of before the bell rings.

If your lab is not complete at the start of class on the due date, it may be turned in late, for a 10%
penalty per day it is past due, up until the day that I return the graded labs to any class. However,
once graded labs have been returned, no new labs will be accepted from students for any reason,
and this will result in a 0 on the lab.

Generally the absence of one of the lab group members is not sufficient enough of an excuse to turn
in a report later than the due date. Please be responsible to your group in this regard.

While working together within your lab group is strongly encouraged, getting answers, solutions or
work from members of other lab groups will be considered cheating and will be handled
accordingly. There is a difference between getting help, in the form of clarification or guidance
from someone outside your group, and essentially copying their work, and the latter will not be
tolerated.

Note: Anyone thinking of taking AP Physics to prepare for the AP exam in hopes of a possible exemption
from a college freshman physics class should keep at least a copy of each graded lab report they may be
accepted/needed to exempt you from the lab portion of that course.