High School Lab Report Format
High School Lab Report Format
Lab instructions (if any) in this class are given in the form of a handout/book, verbally, or both. Your lab
group will consist of pairs or small groups depending upon the equipment available. Each individual lab
partner needs to turn in a separate report. These lab reports will always be recorded in your laboratory
notebook. The reports of lab partners may be similar but not identical reflecting the student’s own
thoughts and conclusions about the lab. Do not share your report with anyone. If two labs are
obviously the same, the grade will be split in half for both students.
Your report grade will depend on the extent of the write-up required. If you and your partner(s) follow the
instructions and perform the experiment carefully, there is no reason why you should not receive maximum
credit on every report. The report should be neat, legible and written in complete sentences. In addition,
all lab reports should be written in cursive.
Lab reports are due during the next scheduled lab period. Exceptions will be announced. Lab reports are to
be turned in at the beginning of the period.
Lab Information: Lab title, name, group members, date(s) of performing experiment.
I. Purpose: A brief statement of the purpose or objective of the experiment. What are you trying to
determine by performing the experiment? You can usually copy these from the lab information
provided in class.
II. Materials: You should include a list of all lab equipment you need to perform this lab.
III. Procedures: Write your procedures so that anyone reading your report, even a non-science
person, can easily duplicate your data with a set of instructions.
A. It includes a title
B. Data table columns and rows include labels
C. Data table columns and rows include units
D. It includes several trials
E. Observations should include as much detail as possible.
V. Graphs: (if applicable): Always create representations of your data in graphical form. Graphs
must have the following:
VII. Analysis Questions: Effectively communicate your answers to questions. Assume the reader of
your report has not read the questions in the lab handout. All answers should be written in
complete sentences that do not require the reader to guess what the question was.
The answers to questions should NEVER begin with the words “it” or “they”.
For example, in responding to the question: “What can you conclude from your velocity versus
time graph about the acceleration of the cart?”
A proper response would be “Since the velocity versus time graph is a straight line, the acceleration
of the object is constant.
OR
If you are unable to write effective sentences as described above, you may write the questions
followed by your answers. No points will be deducted.
VIII. Conclusions: Recall that you performed the experiment with a specific purpose in mind. This
section of the report is a brief statement of your results and whether or not you achieved the
purpose of the experiment. Many readers of experiments read the conclusions first before looking
at the details of the experiment. In other words, if you write a GOOD conclusion, then readers
might be interested in your experiment.