APPhysics F’17 Mr. Durbin

Lab Report Essentials

The following is a description of what is expected in a lab report and how many points each section is worth. Lab reports will receive a grade up to 100 points.

Title: A descriptive title of the investigation. (5 pts)

Purpose:The problem or task to be investigated. It provides the overall direction for the laboratory investigation and must be addressed in the conclusion. (5 pts)

Theory: A description of all pertinent concepts, formulasand vocabulary. (20 pts)

Materials and Procedure:Make a list of all laboratory equipment used in the investigation, including diagrams to illustrate the configuration of equipment set up. The procedure is neatly explained in a numbered sequence. Hint: your audience is not necessarily composed of Physics types! Someone who was not present during the lab should be able to understand how the experiment was performed and be able to reproduce the results bases on your procedure. (10 pts)

Data Collection: Only include recorded measurements (raw data). Do not include any derived values. Often the data are presented in table format with the trial number, independent variable and dependent variable as column headings. Make sure to include the units in parenthesis at the top of each column. (Don’t put units after each measurement.) Make sure all measurements are written to the proper place value to correctly represent the precision of the equipment. (10 pts)

Data Analysis:Show all graphs and derived values. Graphs must have a title describing the independent and dependent variables and the axes must be labeled. (Don’t forget the units in parenthesis.) Include one example of each type of calculation.Include percent error or percent uncertainty if possible. Answer any questions presented in the lab here. (20 pts)

Conclusion:Address the three areas of “scientific argumentation.” (30 pts)

  • Claim: Answer the query of the investigation, include any results (refer to the purpose).
  • Evidence: Summarize the evidence you used to make your claim (i.e., what data did you need to gather, how did you get it and how does it lead to your claim). Warning: If you write the procedure you will lose 5%.
  • Questioning: Judge how your results are consistent or inconsistent with the accepted theory and/or accepted values. You may need to refer to the percent error/percent difference in your discussion. Include the possible sources of experimental errors and how the experiment could be altered to lead to better results.

Here is a template to help in writing your conclusion:

Claim: “In this investigation, I found that (state what you discovered with respect to the lab’s purpose).”

Evidence: “This result is based on (summarize your evidence, referring to the main graphical and/or numerical results from the analysis).”

Questioning: “My results were consistent/inconsistent with the accepted theory that ______/values of ______.”

A)For numerical results:“The percent error was ______.The reason(s) for the error may be (discuss possible sources of error). “

B)For theory: “It agreed/disagreed in that ____. The reason(s) they didn’t (completely) agree may have been that (discuss possible sources of error).”

“The experiment could yield better results if ______. “

Note: Make sure to identify the type of error: instrument, method or environmental. There may be more than one result and/or source of error. Discuss each one separately.

WARNING: HUMAN ERRORS IN PROCEDURE OR CALCULATIONS ARE NOT EXPERIMENTAL ERRORS. IF THERE IS A HUMAN ERROR, REDO THAT PART OF THE LAB BEFORE WRITING YOUR CONCLUSION.

WORDY DISCUSSIONS WILL RESULT IN POINTS BEING DEDUCTED. BE CONSISE!