How To Do a Lab Report

The Abstract:

In the abstract, you're answering three questions:

1) What did you do?
2) What did you find out?
3) Why is it important?

Example from the Lemonade Lab -

Abstract: In this lab, we added sugar to a glass of lemonade to see how it would affect the sweetness. We found out that there is a positive correlation between the amount of sugar we added and how sweet the lemonade was. So the more sugar we added, the sweeter it got. This is important because we now know that the perfect cup of lemonade has one cube of sugar - more is too sweet and less is too sour. This lab also helped us learn about how to use and apply variables and controls in lab experiments

The Question:

Every lab report starts with a question. A good question mentions both the independent and dependent variables.

Example:

Question: How does the amount of sugar added to a cup of lemonade affect its sweetness?

The Hypothesis:

A good hypothesis for a lab answers the question you just wrote. It should be in If/Then format and, once again, mention both your independent variable (in the If part) and your dependent variable (in the then part.) It also gives some evidence supporting your claim.

Example:

Hypothesis: If I increase the amount of sugar added to the cup of lemonade, then the lemonade will be sweeter. I know this because when I add sugar to iced tea, it becomes sweeter, so I think the same will happen with lemonade.

The Materials List:

The materials list is simply a list of what someone needs to do the experiment the way you did. It should look a lot like a cookbook (I call this cookbook format.) It should also specify the number or amount of each material you need. Writing materials don't count.

Example:

Materials:

8 oz cups (4)
Water (500 ml)
Lemonade Mix (4 tsp)
Sugar Cubes (6)
Ice Cubes (4)
Spoon (1)
Marker (1)

The Procedure:

The procedure is a step by step list of instructions telling the reader exactly what to do to repeat the experiment. Again, it reads a lot like a cookbook. Use the numbering function on your Google Docs to automatically put in numbers. Make sure to include every step, especially how you intend to record your data. The most important thing to remember is this: You have to write it so that anyone can understand it. Your target audience should be a third-grade classroom.

Example:

Procedure:

  1. Take each cup and mark it with a line halfway up. The four lines on the four cups should line up evenly.
  2. Fill each cup with water up to the line you have drawn.
  3. Add one spoon of lemonade mix to each cup.
  4. Add sugar as follows:
  5. Add one cube to the first cup
  6. Add two cubes to the second cup
  7. Add three cubes to the third cup
  8. Don't add any sugar to the fourth cup
  9. Add one ice cube to each cup
  10. Stir each cup with the spoon for 30 seconds
  11. Taste each cup of lemonade
  12. Rate each cup from 1 (not sweet at all) to 10 (super-sweet)
  13. Record each sweetness rating in your data table

Results

The results section shows what happened in your lab

Your results should include your data in a table.

In later labs, you will also include a graph of your data in the results section

Conclusion

In the conclusion of your lab, you are answering whether your hypothesis was correct

There are three parts to a good conclusion:

Whether your evidence supports or contradicts your hypothesis

Restate the Hypothesis

Cite the specific evidence of support or contradiction

Explain (if correct) how you can expand your hypothesis (or if incorrect) how you would change your hypothesis and then how you would test the new hypothesis.

Model of a conclusion

The evidence supports my original hypothesis. An increase in the amount of sugar in a cup of lemonade does increase its sweetness. When I used only one cube of sugar in the lemonade, it was rated for sweetness as 3 out of 10, but when I used three cubes of sugar, it rated 8 out of 10 for sweetness. I believe this happens because sugar is the molecule that our tongues register as sweet.