EXPERIMENT TITLE
AUTHOR
DUE DATE
FOREPERSON: (name) TOTAL TIME SPENT: (hours)
SAFETY INSPECTOR: (name) LABWORK: (hours)
TECHNICIAN: (name) CALCULATIONS: (hours)
ADDITIONAL TEAM MEMBERS: (names) WRITING: (hours)
REPORT RECEIVED BY:______DATE:______TIME:______
Course Objectives 1, 2, 4, 6 (ABET a, b, d, e, g, i, k)
Abstract:
This is where the abstract should go. It should be on the order of 200-300 words, and describe the purpose of the experiment, the major experimental points, major results, and major conclusions.
Table of Contents
Course Objectives 1, 2, 4, 6 (ABET a, b, d, e, g, i, k)
[12-15 pages of text, not including the appendix]
Abstract: [200-300 Words]
Introduction, Theory, and Broader Applications: [2-3 Pages]
Apparatus and Procedure: [1 Page + Equipment Diagram]
Safety Considerations: [1/2 – 1 Page]
Results and Discussion: [7-9 Pages]
Conclusions and Recommendations: [1-2 Pages]
Appendix:
Nomenclature:
References:
Original Data:
MSDS Information
Sample Calculations:
Calibrations Curves:
Introduction and Theory: [2-3 Pages]
This is the introduction to the report. This is where you should include background information, context for the report, the motivation for your experiments, and what your objectives will be. The theory portion is where you describe the relevant theoretical treatment of the subject at hand. For example, in the heat exchanger experiment, this is where you might include some description of the relevant heat transfer equations and theory that you will compare your experimental data to.
Apparatus and Procedure: [1 Page + 1 Page Diagram]
This section is where you should include a neat schematic of the experimental apparatus, neatly labeled, such that another reader could walk up to the experiment and orient themselves easily. A description of the apparatus, and of any analytical equipment is appropriate here, as is a description of any secondary materials, including chemicals and their source. The procedure section is where you describe the steps you took to conduct your experiment. As mentioned previously, this should take the form of a narrative, and shouldn’t be a simple bulleted or numbered list. This section should be sufficiently detailed enough that someone could replicate your work using your instructions as a guide. This section can be broken into subsections if needed.
Safety Considerations: [1/2 – 1 Page]
In the safety section you should discuss any and all hazards that are associated with the experiment. This includes discussion of physical hazards that may be associated with the experiment (hot surfaces, noise, moving parts), required or suggested PPE (personal protective equipment), and a discussion of the major chemical hazards that may be relevant (consult the MSDS for all chemicals used).
Results and Discussion: [7-9 Pages]
This is the main body of the report, where you discuss the major findings from your experiment. Data that you take will often be presented in the form of figures or tables, which you must then explain fully in the body of the text and provide your interpretation of what the data means. Figures should always be called out in the body of the text in boldface. For example, Figure 1. Figures should always be accompanied by a relevant caption that summarizes the discussion of the figure’s contents. Similarly, tables should also be called out in the body of the text, also in boldface. Table 1 is an example.
Figure 1: Y variable plotted as a function of X. Note the inclusion of a linear regression of the data, as well as the inclusion of error bars. In general avoid the use of color in graphs, in case the document is photocopied. All graphs should be 6.5 inches in width. Fonts are 12 pt, and bold, for easy readability.
Table 1: Example of how to structure data in a table.
Column 1[Units] / Column 2
[Units] / Column 3
[Units] / Column 4
[Units] / Column 5
[Units]
1.0 / 1.0 / 1.0 / 1.0 / 1.0
2.0 / 2.0 / 2.0 / 2.0 / 2.0
3.0 / 3.0 / 3.0 / 3.0 / 3.0
4.0 / 4.0 / 4.0 / 4.0 / 4.0
5.0 / 5.0 / 5.0 / 5.0 / 5.0
Conclusions and Recommendations: [1-2 Pages]
In the conclusions and recommendations section, you should tie together the main points of the report. In practice, this means referring back to your introduction and connecting your stated goals of the experiment with the results you obtained while actually performing the experiment. In general, each goal or hypothesis you set forth in the introduction should be connected with a corresponding conclusion in this section.
Recommendations are a chance for you to suggest improvements to any aspect of the experiment. Good examples would be if you noted that equipment needs attentions, or that certain operating regimes are difficult to work in, and lead to poor repeatability.
Appendix:
As described, the appendix contains anything that is not appropriate for the main body of the report. At a minimum, it must contain a photocopy or scan of your original data from the experiment (signed and dated of course by the TA or instructor), the Materials Safety Data Sheets for any chemicals your experiment involved, and any calibration curves that you generated during the course of running the experiment. For the minor report, the references and nomenclature sections are also included in the appendix. Other sections will depend upon the specific nature of the experiment and the amount of data generated and calculations required.
Nomenclature:
The nomenclature section usually provides a list of all variables used in the report, together with their definition. This can be a bulleted list. For example:
- Re = Reynolds Number
- V = Linear velocity (m/s)
- D = Pipe Diameter (cm)
- h = Convective heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K)
References:
This is an extremely important section of the document. Any and all references or sources you use in the text should be listed here, in the order that they appear in the text itself. In-text references should be numbered sequentially from the beginning of the documents, and set off in bold brackets at the end of the sentence that is being referenced. As an example, the end of this sentence contains a reference.[1]
All such references would then be collected and spelled out explicitly in this, the references section of the document. You will be expected to follow the ACS style guide for the inclusion of all reference types.
[1] Author, A.A.; Author, B.B., Book Title, Edition; Publisher: Place of Publication, Year; Pagination.
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