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SPH3U Lab Report Outline

This document outlines the required sections and formatting for lab reports in an SPH3U physics course. Lab reports must be typed with a title page including the report title, author's name, and date. Section headings in bold include: Abstract, Introduction, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure, Observations, Calculations, Discussion, and Conclusion. The abstract provides an overview and key results. The introduction provides background on the topic. Hypothesis states expected outcomes. Materials lists all items used. Procedure describes steps to repeat the experiment. Observations records quantitative and qualitative findings. Calculations show work neatly with attached pages. Discussion interprets results and addresses sources of error. Conclusion refers back to the hypothesis and suggests future

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58 views2 pages

SPH3U Lab Report Outline

This document outlines the required sections and formatting for lab reports in an SPH3U physics course. Lab reports must be typed with a title page including the report title, author's name, and date. Section headings in bold include: Abstract, Introduction, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure, Observations, Calculations, Discussion, and Conclusion. The abstract provides an overview and key results. The introduction provides background on the topic. Hypothesis states expected outcomes. Materials lists all items used. Procedure describes steps to repeat the experiment. Observations records quantitative and qualitative findings. Calculations show work neatly with attached pages. Discussion interprets results and addresses sources of error. Conclusion refers back to the hypothesis and suggests future

Uploaded by

abdul.hassan78606
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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SPH3U – Lab Report Outline

Lab Reports must be typed (calculations can be included hand-written if INCREDIBLY neat),
use 12pt font, and should always have a title page as follows:

Title of Lab Report (Middle of Page)

Prepared By: Your Name


Lab Partners: Their Names
Prepared For: Mr. Foote
Course: SPH3U
Due Date: Date that it is due

All sections should have headings, aligned on the left hand side of the page in bold. You may
choose a larger font for the headings if you wish (no more than 16pt). The headings should be in
the order as follows below.
Abstract
The abstract is the last thing you will write in your lab report but it is the first thing you see in the
finished product (after the title page). The abstract is a brief outline of what you were
investigating, what you did in the experiment, what you found out and what was concluded from
your learning. Include specific values that were found, not everything is needed, just sort of the
final values for whatever you were investigating and the percent error if applicable.
Introduction
Should be about one paragraph long and it is a section in which you provide background
information about the topic that you were investigating in the lab. The end of the introduction
should be a statement about the purpose of the lab that you are performing.
Hypothesis
This section is where you state what the expected outcomes for the lab along with your
reasoning. You will often have multiple hypotheses that you were testing for different aspects of
the lab combined within one report.
Materials
List of ALL materials that you used in the lab, may be list form.
Procedure
This section is very difficult to complete correctly. The purpose should be descriptive enough so
that a person can follow along with it and repeat your steps exactly and should get the same
results. You need to be specific with things like measurements and you should note when
observations should be made. You may do the procedure as a numbered process (i.e. step 1, step
2 etc.)
Observations
This should be well organized and is where you record everything that happened during your
experiment. Using tables is an excellent way to organize your observations - but every table
should have a brief description of what data is contained within (i.e. Table 1 – Observations
made of changes in heart rate throughout exercise time period). You should also include
qualitative (descriptive) observations that do not easily fit into a table that will add further insight
and explanation into what occurred during the lab (e.g. – We noticed that some liquid evaporated
from the test tubes while leaving them in the water bath). All lab reports should have both
qualitative and quantitative observations.
Calculations
These must be incredibly neat and orderly. They should flow in a logical manner – meaning
that if you did a calculation and used that value in a further calculation, that is the order they
should appear in your lab report. Full GRASS method should be shown for all calculations and
final value answers should be listed with correct significant digits in the statements only, do not
round your figures early. When using a calculated value in further calculations do not use the
rounded value! The calculations can be hand-written as long as they are extremely neat and
organized. You should still include a heading that has the following sentence underneath –
“Please see attached calculations page(s) at the back of report”, and make sure you actually
attach these when handing in your lab report!
Discussion
This section is where you discuss your results obtained in the lab. You should start by discussing
what you found and then attempt to interpret those results. You should attempt to explain any
discrepancies in your data and you should also explain any sources of error you might have had
that would have had an impact on your results. It is not enough just to list sources of error, you
must also attempt to explain how these sources of error may have impacted your results
specifically as well as how you would improve the experimental design to limit or negate the
impact of the sources of error.
Conclusion
This section is for you to refer back to your hypothesis specifically and make conclusions about
what you were testing. You should also suggest future investigations that should be carried out or
questions that could be tested further (note: this is not just re-doing the same lab and listing
improvements, but rather further areas of study in the related to the topic of the lab).

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