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Structure of Lab Reports

Lab reports are structured into five main sections: Introduction, Experimental, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions. The Introduction outlines the experiment's objectives and hypotheses, while the Experimental section details the methods used. Results present the data, Discussion analyzes the significance of findings, and Conclusions address errors and future research possibilities.

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12 views2 pages

Structure of Lab Reports

Lab reports are structured into five main sections: Introduction, Experimental, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions. The Introduction outlines the experiment's objectives and hypotheses, while the Experimental section details the methods used. Results present the data, Discussion analyzes the significance of findings, and Conclusions address errors and future research possibilities.

Uploaded by

tyler.welch
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Structure of lab reports

Reports will be divided generally into the following sections, in order of appearance:

1. Introduction: This section tells the reader why you did the experiment. It includes
some or all of the following: background information (objectives), an explanation of the
hypothesis you set out to test and the results of previous, closely-related experiments.
When the reader finishes reading the introduction, she should know what to expect in the
report. NOTE you need to have two things

# 1 Objective

#2 Hypothesis/Prediction

2.Experimental: This section (called "Materials and Methods" in biology) describes what
you did in enough detail that someone else with your level of experience could repeat the
experiment. Your description must therefore be quantitative (for instance, what
temperature did you heat the mixture to and for how long?) as well as specific (for
instance, what are the make and model of the spectrometer you used for
analysis?). NOTE that all the information in this section should be listed

Materials: 1)

2)

Procedure 1)

2)

3.Results: In this section you present the data from your experiment. (Note that some
simple data, such as the yield from a synthetic step, may be presented in the Experimental
section; check with your instructor for your specific lab.) You may use tables and/or
figures to present the results, but you should describe any relevant features of the results
completely within the text, referring the reader to the appropriate table or figure as
necessary. Keep in mind that tables are useful when the reader wants to know the exact
numerical value of a result, while graphs are useful for showing trends and for deriving
values from a statistical fit of data. Both tables and figures should be numbered
sequentially, and each should have a descriptive title. Tables may be presented in any
format that clearly delineates rows and columns from each other. Headings should
indicate the units associated with any value. Figures may include any graphic
information such as schematics of experimental apparatus and drawings of large
molecules; in your lab reports figures will most often be graphs. The same instructions
apply to graphs as to the rest of your report: present the material in the simplest and
clearest manner possible. Your instructor may give you further hints. Note that most of
the time you will make a table in class, as long as it is legible you do not need to re-
write it
4.Discussion: This is the section where you 1st explain any key terms to the reader, than
the significance of the results you presented above, so whether your hypothesis is right or
wrong. Your discussion will include some or all of the following: comparison of your
results to literature or theoretical results, evaluation of how your data support or refute
your original hypothesis. NOTE you should have three parts in this section

1.) Key Terms

2.) Statement whether hypothesis is right or wrong

3.) Explanation why your hypothesis is right or wrong

5.Conclusions: ,An analysis of possible sources of error, relevance of your results to a


larger field of study, and possibilities for further study to answer any additional questions
raised by your results.

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