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MYP Sciences Lab Report Format Notes

how to structure lab reports for IB MYP Crit C and D Sciences

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108 views3 pages

MYP Sciences Lab Report Format Notes

how to structure lab reports for IB MYP Crit C and D Sciences

Uploaded by

requincies
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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science sa

Overall format tips:


● Format with strand titles
● Times New Roman, double spaced when necessary
● Add diagrams for the background information when possible
● Try to stick to a minimum of three in-text citations for every piece of writing you do (not counting the
actual background research, which should have a minimum of at least five)

MAKE THE RESEARCH QUESTION ABSOLUTE.


Research question should include IV, DV, and method (to be focused). How does the IV (range and measure)
impact the DV (measure) during x process when x is kept constant?

● Remember to list only the major constants, rest can be explained in the table.
● Explain the RQ: what problem does it relate to and how? Use scientific knowledge to do so; here is
where you show off knowledge acquired during the unit.

the ivs and dvs are good, but we need to justify the selection of the ivs, justify the selections of the levels
the cv needs to clearly state how you’re keeping it constant and what happens if they’re NOT kept constant
the uncontrollable variables need to be stated, explain how they’re being minimised

HYPOTHESIS:

● IV [explicitly mentioned with numerical MEASURES]


● DV [explicitly mentioned with numerical MEASURES] (like, rate of photosynthesis measured with
respect to number of bubbles/time)

Needs to have a ‘because’ statement: what scientific evidence are you basing your claim upon? Why will
the DV change, scientifically speaking? Try and relate it to the topics in the unit as much as possible.
2-3 sentences.

BACKGROUND RESEARCH:

conduct background research on the internet with appropriate MLA citations, of everything that may be
relevant to your experiment with regards to data. Everything in the background research should be directly
relevant to your lab report.

bare minimum of at least five in-text citations


small paragraph of 200 words. like. EVERY OTHER STATEMENT needs to be an in-text citation
Should relate to the scientific context of the investigation (talk about theory). For example, if you’re talking
about something that happens in an electrovoltaic cell, provide information about voltaic cells and how they
work from a scientific perspective.

IVs/DVs: identify variables: should be measurable quantities, not tools, and not vague answers

● IV: state the IV, state the levels, justify the selection of the levels, state how you’re controlling it in a
lab setting
● DV: state the DV, state why it’s dependent, explain how it will be measured in terms of unit and
metre. It needs to be a directly measurable value.
● Constants: State the constants, explain how they’re being kept constant, explain what’ll happen if
they’re not kept constant (why are they being kept constant?)
● Control: Explain the control setup (state the measure), explain WHY it’s a control, explain how its
being kept at control
● Uncontrolled setups: State what’s not being controlled: uncontrolled aspects, mishaps that might
happen, etc, explain how you’re MINIMISING it (cant be negated, can be minimised) (eg; do more
trials, etc)

PROCEDURE: Design an experiment.

● 15 bits of data are sufficient for IBDP


● take two trials for each set of data (each changed IV), take average to ensure accuracy
● you can do five sets of data with three trials each
● or seven-eight sets of data with two trials each
● simulations don’t require trials
● Use appropriate scientific names for the tools and materials
● No first person; be formal
● go into detail, so much that a person reading the instructions could easily perform the experiment
without any help.

SAFETY MEASURES:
after the procedure/during the procedure. If there’s no safety precautions (i.e an online simulation), either
check again (antivirus measures? adblockers?) or include just accuracy notes during the procedure.

Ethical considerations: is my experiment hampering or causing inconvenience to anyone? consent for any
experiment involving humans? data sourcing, legality? Credits and copyright/plagiarism?
Environmental considerations
Safety in the lab/in-person considerations

Advanced safety table:


column 1: hazardous tool/material
column 2: precautions that should be taken

be NEUROTIC. spillage counts, getting stuff into eyes counts, accidentally breaking things, bumping into
things, knocking over things counts. even a drop of water can kill someone. if you try hard enough.

RAW DATA TABLE:


regular data table, make sure to show the units next to each variable in the header. Title the table and label
the trials.
Data should be recorded with correct significant figures according to the simulation, OR set a standard
number of significant figures for the entire experiment.
show calculations; average, standard deviation, etc

GRAPH:
Graph should have a heading and number.
Data points should be visible in the graph, also the trend line
Axes should be labelled correctly with units
IV on X-axis, DV on Y-axis
why was that type of graph selected? Justify.
R square value (coefficient of determination) needed; GDC can be used to find it
Graphical interpretation: Explain the relationship between the DV and IV in the graph (type of correlation,
direct, inverse, etc). You can also do this in the conclusion section if you want. Remember to directly state
the correlation, and analyse the graph using a minimum of three data points as reference to prove the
correlation. You can use the coefficient of determination to explain the strength of the correlation.

● What is the correlation?


● What is the evidence that this correlation exists?
● How well does the graph follow this correlation?
● What does this mean in context of the data?

observe and collect data: perform experiment, collect raw data

1. Analysis and presentation of data (tables, graphs, drawings, written explanations of data)
2. Make conclusions: does the data support the hypothesis? yes= accept hypothesis, analyse
methodology no= reject hypothesis; modify it or formulate a new one, analyse methodology and
what went wrong.

Evaluation:
Validity and Reliability of:

● Method
● Data
● Hypothesis

Explore the strengths and weaknesses of each


conclude by explaining whether your hypothesis was accurate or not and why.
Making conclusions: does the data support hypothesis? yes= accept hypothesis, analyse methodology no=
reject hypothesis; modify it or formulate a new one, analyse methodology and what went wrong.

Remember to cite the data at least 3 times in the hypothesis evaluation. It MUST be with data reference.

● How correct is the hypothesis?


● Why? (reasoning with reference to data)
● Why? (reasoning with reference to scientific concept)
● Did the hypothesis fail to take anything into account? Why? How did this impact the results?
● Analyse the methodology. Was this experiment successful? How and why might the methodology
have impacted the coefficient of determination?

Extension:
When providing/suggesting an extension to the method, state the extension and explain why it would result
in a different experiment/how it is taking the current experiment further. Try to provide suggestions for
experiments that would provide different results or explore completely unique concepts; use your scientific
knowledge to do so.

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