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Directions: Lab Report Guide

This document provides guidelines for writing a lab report with three sections: 1) Experimental Overview with background, hypothesis and procedure; 2) Data & Analysis with graphs of trends and data interpretation; 3) Conclusions discussing whether the hypothesis was supported/refuted and improvements. Students are prompted to answer 8 questions to inform the 3 sections, with graphs and 1-2 paragraphs for the overview and conclusions sections. Overall, the report should be a coherent summary of the experiment.

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Jonathan Allman
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130 views

Directions: Lab Report Guide

This document provides guidelines for writing a lab report with three sections: 1) Experimental Overview with background, hypothesis and procedure; 2) Data & Analysis with graphs of trends and data interpretation; 3) Conclusions discussing whether the hypothesis was supported/refuted and improvements. Students are prompted to answer 8 questions to inform the 3 sections, with graphs and 1-2 paragraphs for the overview and conclusions sections. Overall, the report should be a coherent summary of the experiment.

Uploaded by

Jonathan Allman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lab Report Guide

Directions
Now that the lab is complete, it’s time to write your lab report. The purpose of this guide is to help you write a
clear and concise report that summarizes the lab you have just completed.
The lab report is composed of three sections:
Section I: Experimental Overview
o Provide background information.
o Include the hypothesis.
o Summarize the procedure.
Section II: Data & Analysis
o Include graphs to display trends in the data.
o Identify trends in the data.
Section III: Conclusions
o Identify if the hypothesis was supported or refuted.
o Provide logical reasoning based on data.
o Explain how the experiment could be improved.

To help you write your lab report, you will first answer the eight questions listed below based on the experiment
that you have just completed. Then you will use the answers to these questions to write the lab report that you
will turn into your teacher.
You can upload your completed report with the upload tool in formats such as OpenOffice.org, Microsoft Word,
or PDF. Alternatively, your teacher may ask you to turn in a paper copy of your report or use a web-based
writing tool.

Questions
Section I: Experimental Overview
1. What is the question that you are trying to answer?

2. What is your hypothesis for this experiment?

3. What methods are you using to test this hypothesis?


Lab Report Guide
Outline the steps of the procedure in full sentences.

Section II: Data & Analysis


4. What graphs would clearly represent the trends in your data?
Your Student Guide includes information on which graphs to construct. Each graph should have the
following:
a. an appropriate title
b. appropriate labels for each axis
c. an appropriate scale for each axis
d. the correct units for the data

Complete a rough sketch of each graph.


Lab Report Guide

5. What do the data in your graphs tell you?


Explain in one or two sentences what trend the reader should observe in each of your graphs.

Section III: Conclusions


6. What do the data tell you about your hypothesis?
State how your hypothesis is either supported OR refuted by the data.

7. How do the data support your claim above?


Explain your statement above. Be sure to refer to specific pieces of data from your experiment that
support your argument.

8. If you could repeat the experiment and make it better, what would you do differently and why?
There are always ways that experiments can be improved. Now that you are a veteran of this
experiment and have experience with the procedure, offer some advice to the next scientist about what
you suggest and why.
Lab Report Guide

Writing the Lab Report


Now you will use your answers from the eight questions above to write your lab report. Follow the directions
below.

Section I: Experimental Overview

Use your answers from questions 1-3 as the basis for the first section of your lab report. This section provides
your reader with background information about why you conducted this experiment and how it was completed.
It should be 1-2 paragraphs in length.

Section II: Data & Analysis

Use your answers from questions 4-5 as the basis for the second section of your lab report. This section
provides your reader with the data from the experiment and a visual way to see any trends in the data. No
paragraphs are required for this section, but you do need to include the appropriate graphs to display the data.

Section III: Conclusions

Use your answers from questions 6-8 as the basis for the third section of your lab report. This section provides
your reader with your interpretation of the data set. It also demonstrates your understanding of the experiment
through your ability to offer constructive criticism about its design. This section should be 1-2 paragraphs in
length.

Overall

When complete, the lab report should be read as a coherent whole. Make sure that you connect different pieces
with relevant transitions. Review for proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, formatting, and other conventions of
organization and good writing.

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