SPH 140 - INTRODUCTORY Physics I

Laboratory Report Guidelines

Semester 1, 2025
Mr. MAX JAY (C/COORDINATOR)

The Year of Transformation

 What is Physics

• Physics is the natural science that involves the study of matter and its
motion through space and time, along with the related concepts such as
energy and force. (Branch of science which deals with matter and energy
and their interactions.)
Laboratory Report
• Physics is an experimental science by which it can be quantitatively
descript using experiments as lab reports.
• Lab Report is a written description of what you did in an experiment, the
results obtained, analysis of this data and your conclusions.
A Guide to Writing a Laboratory Report
A. Introduction
• A Laboratory Report is a written description of what you did in an
experiment.
• Every time you perform an experiment you are expected to write a
laboratory report on it.
 Laboratory Reports
This is a written description of what you did in an experiment, the results obtained,
analysis of this data and your conclusions.
The main parts of a practical report are:
• Cover page – Heading; Name; ID #; Level; Tutors Name. No fancy decorations
• Aim – be brief
• Theory
• Apparatus – state all equipment used
• Diagram – 2-D ; simple, well labeled, use pencil/ruler
• Procedure/Method – To be in reported form. Precise, No numbering of steps; ½
page at the most.
• Results – IMPORTANT !.... Table form, neat/tidy, correct units,
• Analysis & calculations – Do the required/appropriate calculations using YOUR
OWN results [calculations, units, graphs].
• Error analysis – at all times.
• Conclusions – Be precise. 1 or 2 sentences at the most.
• Questions – (may be included). Answers to these questions will help you make
conclusions.
 B. Parts of Laboratory Reports
1. The Heading (Cover Page)
Consist of:
• Name of the Course, date of the actual performance of the experiment, the
experiment number, and the title of the experiment.
• Your Name, ID Number,
• Name of your lecturer & tutors
• No fancy decorations.
2. Aim
• Brief statement of the reason why you are doing the experiment
• To verify certain physical principles (i.e. check whether they hold true under
the conditions specified in your experiment),
• To establish the relationship between certain physical variables,
• To familiarize yourself with some physical quantities and the instruments used
in their measurement.
3. Theory
• Briefly states the concepts involved and their background ideas.
• State what you are going to do in this experiment based on what you stated
in your aim.
4. Apparatus
• List of all the equipment that you actually used in the experiment.
5. The Diagram
• As the name implies, the diagram is a pictorial representation of the
equipment used or of the laboratory set-up built in the experiment [drawing
of pieces of apparatus mentioned in 3 are put together to carry out the
experiment].
• Your diagram must be clearly labelled.
• Your drawing should occupy half of a page.
6. Procedure (or Method)
• To be in reported speech, i.e. describe what you actually did.
• Should occupy half the page.
7. Results
• Record results in table form, neat/tidy, correct units.
• Be honest with your results
• Record even those which appear wrong or do not fit the overall pattern.
• Do not be selective in the choice of which results to use or to discard.
• Get into the habit of using them all if your work is to be meaningful.
• If you discard results, explain on what grounds but be sure your reason is not
to idealize your data; or you defeat the purpose of the experiment.
8. Analysis and Calculations
Calculations, Units, Graphs
• Calculation - Almost all experiments involve calculations.
• Show at least one sample calculation for each of the physical quantities
determined, under this heading.
• There is no need for you to show all calculations for the same quantity.
• Units – As in your results, remember to attach the required SI units for the quantity
you have just calculated. *A value without a unit is worse than a person without a
name.
• Graphs – you are required to draw graphs using the data obtained in the
experiment.
• Graphs permit us to make measurements e.g., the gradient or the intersection on
an axis.
• Also allow us to see whether all the results follow a reasonable pattern or whether
some may be very inaccurate, in which case they need to be re-checked.
• Requirements: Title of the Graph, graph paper (whole sheet), appropriate scales
(simple), Units, labelling (name of quantities on X and Y axis), calculations
derived from the graph.
9. Error Analysis
• For ALL measurements involving numerical measurements, you should
estimate the attendant errors in each of the measured quantities and
combine these to give the overall error.
• Notes on Error Analysis in the next few slides
10. Conclusion
• More Important after the results.
• In conclusion you are expected to interpret your results and draw your
conclusion from them.
• Your conclusion is the measure of what you have learned from the
experiment.
• State everything you have found out or learnt.
• Experiment without conclusion has little value and won’t receive much
credit.
• If your results do not confirm the conclusions you expected from the manual,
do not disguise the fact. Note the disagreement and try to explain its cause.
11. Answers to Questions
• Answers to these questions will help you make conclusions.
• In some experiments you will find Questions, either scattered through the text
or at the end.
• Do not ignore these questions. Some of them are intended to guide your
conduct of the experiment and other require an explicit answer.
• Use your own judgement as to what is expected.
 Error Analysis
Measurement is the means of gaining accurate knowledge about subject
matter. However, no measurement can be perfectly accurate. This means that
errors are involved in ALL measurements. Errors may be classified into two main
types: Systemic errors and Random error.
A. Systemic Error
These errors are generally in the same direction each time a measurement is
taken and usually can be corrected for by a simple calculation.
Example
i. Zero (or null) errors
ii. Pointer not pivoted at the centre of a circular scale
B. Random or Accidental Error
These are errors of observation and follow no fixed pattern – they cause an
increase or decrease in a reading at random. Since they are random, an
improved result may be obtained by only averaging the results of several
independent observations.
Example
Parallax error
C. Limit of Reading Scale
The limit of reading of a scale is defined to be the smallest part of the scale
which can be read from the scale.
Example:
If a scale is in mm, then the limit of reading the scale is 1 mm
D. Absolute Error
One method of estimating errors in a given quantity is to take repeated
measurements. The result of this is a set of non-identical values. The spread of
these values is the difference between the highest measurement and the
lowest. The absolute error is then one half of the spread of values. For a single
reading, the absolute error is equal to the half the limit of the scale reading in
the instrument.
E. Statement of Measurement
The usual way of starting any measurement with its absolute error is:
(Best Estimate Value) ± (Absolute Error)
Example
If the best estimate of the measurement of length is 15.55 cm, then the
statement is 15.55 ± 0.05 cm
Calculations with Errors
A. Error in a Sum or Difference
The absolute error in a sum or difference is the sum of the absolute errors in each
measurements. It means that if the absolute error in measurement values of A
and B are A and B respectively, than, X = A + B or X = A – B then the absolute
error X in X is given as the sum A and B, i.e., if X A ± B, then ∆X = ∆A ± ∆B
Example
Let two measurement be A = 2.0 ± 0.2 cm
B. Error in a Product and Quotient
We cannot find error in quotient simply by dividing the errors – that way we
could greatly reduced the experiment error of the final results just by dividing.
What is needed is the concept of fractional (or relative) error.
The fractional (or relative) error and percentage error are define as;
𝐴𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 ∆𝑋
i. 𝐹𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = =
𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑋

Where ∆X means the absolute error in reading X

∆𝑋
ii. 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = ∗ 100%
𝑋

Example:
Calculate the fractional error in reading 4.90 ± 0.05 cm and express it as a
percentage error.
 The fractional error in product or quotient of two quantities is the sum of
separate fractional error.
That is:
∆(𝐴∗𝐵) ∆(𝐴 𝐵)
and = ∆𝐴 𝐴 + ∆𝐵 𝐵
𝐴∗𝐵 𝐴 𝐵

Example
Calculate the area (A) of rectangle for the following given data:
Length (L) = 14.26 ± 0.02 cm
Width (W) = 5.94 ± 0.02 cm
C. Error in the Power of a Quantity
The fractional error in a magnitude raised to the nth power is n times the
fractional error in the magnitude itself.
That is if:
𝐴 = 𝑋 𝑛 , then the error formula will be:
∆𝐴 ∆𝑋
=𝑛
𝐴 𝑋

Example
Find the relative error in A if:
i. 𝐴 = 𝑋2
ii. 𝐴 = 𝑋3
Therefore in summary, the formula for error calculation are as follows:
• 𝐼𝑓 𝑋 = 𝐴 + 𝐵 𝑜𝑟 𝑋 = 𝐴 − 𝐵, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 ∆𝑋 = ∆𝐴 + ∆𝐵
∆𝑋 ∆𝐴 ∆𝐵
• 𝐼𝑓 𝑋 = 𝐴 ∗ 𝐵 𝑜𝑟 𝑋 = 𝐴 𝐵 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 = + 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 ∆X = X [ ∆𝐴 𝐴 + ∆𝐵 𝐵 ]
𝑋 𝐴 𝐵
∆𝐴 ∆𝐴
• 𝐼𝑓 𝑋 = 𝐴𝑛 , ∆𝑋 𝑋 = 𝑛 , 𝑜𝑟 ∆𝑋 = 𝑛𝑋
𝐴 𝐴
D. Errors in Graphs
• The straight line or the linear graph is the most important or widely used for
experimental purposes.
• The slope and the intercept on the axes of such a graph give information
useful in determination of physical quantities from experimental data. Like
any measurement, the individual points on a graph are prone to errors, arising
from the following:
i. The experimental results being in error
ii. Errors from locating the points accurately on the graph paper. The accuracy in
placing the points depends on the scale chosen for the graph.
• To get a straight line we construct a line of best fit (LBF) through the points. It
may pass through some experimental points. The LBF should have roughly as
many points below as there are above. We use this LBF to determine the
slope of the graph and the intercepts on the axes.
 Error Analysis – Calculus Perspective
The error associated with calculated physical quantities, such as the area of a
circle, can be estimated by the application of calculus.
𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑓
𝑑𝑓 = 𝑑x + 𝑑𝑦 + ……
𝜕x 𝜕𝑦

Example 1
Consider a circle with a measured radius (r) of 0.10 m ± 0.01m
𝐴 = 𝜋𝑟 2 = 𝜋 0.10𝑚2 = 0.031𝑚2
Error is:
𝜕𝐴 𝜕
𝑑𝐴 = 𝑑𝑟 = 𝜋𝑟 2 𝑑𝑟 = 2𝜋𝑟𝑑𝑟 = 2𝜋 ∗ 0.10 ∗ 0.01 = 0.0063 𝑚2
𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟

Relative Error is:

𝑑𝐴 2𝜋𝑟𝑑𝑟 (0.0063 𝑚2 )
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = = = = 0.21 𝑜𝑟 21%
𝐴 𝜋𝑟 2 (0.031 𝑚2 )
Example 2
Consider a sphere with measured radius (r) of 0.10m ± 0.01 m
4 4
𝑉= 𝜋𝑟 3 = 𝜋 0.103 = 0.0042 𝑚3
3 3

Error is:
𝜕𝑉 𝜕 4
𝑑𝑉 = 𝑑𝑟 = 𝜋𝑟 3 𝑑𝑟 = 4𝜋𝑟 2 𝑑𝑟 = 4𝜋 0.102 0.01 = 0.0013 𝑚3
𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟 3

Relative Error is:

𝑑𝑉 4𝜋𝑟 2 𝑑𝑟 0.0013 𝑚3
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = = 4 = = 0.29 𝑜𝑟 29%
𝑉 (3𝜋𝑟 3 ) 0.0042 𝑚3