Soapy Water Lab Required Elements (updated 2011)

Ahard copy is due AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASSor you will get a 0. NO LATE WORK IS ACCEPTED for any reason other than being absent (you had plenty of time to get your work done, seek extra help, fix your printer, save to a flash drive and print at school, etc.)! If you happen to be absent on the due date, your lab report is due at the beginning of class when you return. Do not save as a .docx file (Windows 7). You cannot open it at school because we do not have the updated version of Office. Save it as a .doc file (compatibility) if you need to print at school. Plan ahead! Do not bring a note if your lab report is missing for whatever reason. Let your parents/guardians know I will not accept notes. Your lab report must be here on time for you to get credit.

Cover Page (5 points)

  • Makes your lab report look neat and professional. Include the following (pictures are optional):
  • Appropriate title of lab, centered on the paper
  • The following centered under the title or in the right lower corner:
  • Your name
  • Date
  • Period
  • Teacher’s name (Ms. Katuzney), spelled correctly!

Title/Literature Cited (15 points)

Your title is composed of a maximum of 10 words and describes the problem/purpose of the lab (“Soapy Water Lab Report” is not a good title.) Bibliography and citations (in body of report) are required and written in APA format. 3 or more scientific sources (Wikipedia is NOT acceptable) are cited to explain concepts /background information in your report. Follow directions and answer all of the questions below thoroughly! If you omit either, you will get a 0 on this section. An abstract is not required.

Section 1:

Introduction: Part A – Background Information (15 points/ (leave space between sections; looks neat and organized)

  • Go back to the handout (reread the first paragraph)
  • What does the treatment plant want to do?
  • Summarize the task in your own words
  • Background Information (15 points)

A PARAGRAPH OF SEVERAL SENTENCES (7-8) IS EXPECTED FOR EACH OF THE POINTS BELOW. BE SURE TO CITE THE INFORMATION YOU USE. A minimum of 3 sources is required (no Wikipedia)– APA format (see a librarian for information/handout, use the information on the side bar of our web site or use a reputable site from the Internet). DO NOT copy/paste URLs from web sites! You will lose points if you do that. Put any information IN YOUR OWN WORDS. DO NOT COPY WORD FOR WORD! Know the vocabulary you use.

  • What does a water treatment plant do with dirty water? How is dirty water treated to make it safe to return to the environment?
  • What is special about the water molecule? What are some properties of water?
  • How does soap work?
  • Give three different examples of types of soap and how they work to do different jobs.
  • What is a precipitate?
  • How is a precipitate formed in a chemical reaction? Give 2 specific examples

Citations (proper format) are required for this background information. If you do not provide citations, you will receive a 0 on this section of the lab report. Plagiarism?????

Introduction: Part B: Purpose/Problem/Hypothesis/Variables –paragraph form/TOA can help(10 points)

  • What is your task? Briefly restate (one sentence is acceptable)
  • Clear statement of the problem.
  • Clear statement of the hypothesis in an “if, then, because” statement
  • Identification of variables – Paragraph Form!
  • Clear identification of manipulated (independent) variable (Include names of substances used)
  • Clear identification of responding (dependent) variable (include the unit used to measure it)

Section 2: Materials and Methods– PARAGRAPH FORM (15 points)

  • Do not write a numbered list. This section consists of a well-written paragraph that presents a clear, complete, concise, repeatable procedure written in the past tense that effectively tests stated hypothesis and includes requirements for keeping all known interfering variables (things you listed as constants) as stable as possible.
  • State the control when appropriate. This lab has a control.
  • Clear statement of what the control is and why it is used
  • Explain what the control is used to compare
  • Controlled variables (constants) - at least 5 listed
  • In order for the outcome of the experiment to be valid, only one variable should be tested at a time. In order to isolate (and, therefore, truly test) the independent variable, environmental and/or outside factors must be controlled. In this section, write about how outside factors were controlled.
  • Include diagrams and/or descriptions of specific materials, equipment and/or set-ups and how they are used.
  • Put the information from the general procedures provided in your own words, including safety procedures
  • Add anything that you took notes on while performing the lab
  • Details, details, details!!!!!!!!
  • If someone came into the lab and that person was handed YOUR lab report, would they be able to reproduce what you did and obtain similar results? If you can answer “yes” to this questions (and I would agree with you!!!), your procedures are thorough and complete.

Section 3: Results (15 points)

See “How to write a lab report for more detailed description of what must be included in “Results” section. This document is on the side bar on the opening page of the BA Science Department web site.

  1. Properly labeled data table
  2. Done on the computer
  3. Has all columns/rows of data properly labeled including units, has a title, as a caption that explains the information in the table.
  4. Your first data table is Table 1, with an appropriate title. If you have another table, it would be Table 2, etc.

2. Properly labeled graph

  • Drawn with a computer program. If you need help with the graph, see your teacher.
  • All axes are labeled properly and the interval (scale) is evenly counted, scale can be different on x- and y- axes, has a title, has a caption that explains the information in the table.
  • Your first graph is Figure 1, with an appropriate title. If you have another graph, diagram and so forth, it would be Figure 2, etc.
  • 3. Qualitative observations (Calculations are not needed for this lab.)
  • What else did you observe that IS NOT in your data table?
  • Do not do any kind of data analysis here but provide some information about what you saw, smelled, etc.

Section 4: Discussion (also known as the Conclusion – Paragraph Form! / 15 points)

THIS SECTION SHOULD BE A MINIMUM OF 8-10 SENTENCES for each of the two parts! Clearly and insightfully relates the data to the problem/hypothesis, showing complete and accurate understanding of the experiment. Addresses real and relevant validity issues, evaluates their effects on the results and includes suggestions for future investigations. References data, graph, etc.

Data Analysis:THIS SECTION SHOULD BE A MINIMUM OF 8-10 SENTENCES!

  • Restate problem
  • Restate hypothesis
  • State whether hypothesis was supported or not and is supported with data.
  • Repeat some key data from your data table to support your statements
  • Quote the measurements collected from the control and all tested substances.
  • A discussion, based on the data, of which substance removed the most soap from the soapy water and why
  • Compare all of the results to each other and to the control thoroughly

Validity: THIS SECTION SHOULD BE A MINIMUM OF 8-10 SENTENCES!

  • Real issues that may cause concern about the validity of your results, things that you couldn’t keep constant in the experiment and/or things you realized later that should have been kept constant or done differently.
  • “We might not have read the ruler correctly” is not an acceptable issue.
  • No “we measured wrong, etc.”
  • No “might have,” or “could have.”
  • No things that you should have been able to do correctly.
  • Express an opinion as to whether you think each issue really affected the results significantly.
  • EXPLAIN A MINIMUM OF THREE ISSUES; DO NOT JUST LIST SOME MISTAKES. HOW DO THE ISSUES AFFECT THE ACCURACY OF YOUR RESULTS?

Mechanics (10 points)

  • Check spelling, grammar, capitalizations, etc. (Do not use any pronouns, contractions, etc.)
  • PROOF-READ! There is no reason to lose points here if you take the time to proof-read your work.
  • Losing points here could take your score down a letter grade but is easily avoided if you check your work!