Lab Report Format

Introduction

• Why is this important to study
• Must contain the general information that was given in class.
• You may include reasons for raising the question. If you changed the question during the course of the experiment, because of what happened or failed to happen, discuss the shift in this section. Write this section in paragraph form. Include balanced chemical equations.

 

Research Question

• Write your question in its final form. Use the interrogative form.

Hypothesis

Explain how what you knew led you to your experimental design. Explain your assumptions and reasoning but not the details of your steps. Conclude your discussion of the hypothesis with a conditional statement of your working hypothesis (“If…, then…” statement relating independent and dependent variables)

 

Variables

• Independent:
• Dependent:
• Control:

 

Methodology

• Describe the steps that you took as a set of numbered statements. Explain adjustments that you made and the conditions that prompted these adjustments.
• Make your description sufficiently clear that I could repeat your experiment and get the same results that you got.
• Be certain to include quantities, dimensions, and other measurements that would be helpful to a person trying to repeat your results.
• Procedural steps should be numbered and make use of an economy of words.
• Draw a diagram of the experimental plan and refer to the diagram in your description.

 

Safety (Risk Assessment)

• A few sentences
• How Chemicals were disposed
• How and when lab coats, fume hoods & googles were used
• Why are they dangerous

 

Chemicals and Equipment

•  List all materials (not in sentence format)

 

Results

Qualitative

• You may want to add a photo/video
• A few lines of description of each photo

Quantatative

• Express the raw data by using a table.
• Data tables should be properly formatted with title, labels on columns and rows, and units.
• Record uncertainties in your measurements

 

Analysis

• Show the transformations of the raw data to a final answer.
• You may want to find averages, % changes, rates, ranges, or medians or modes to see if any patterns pop out.
• Calculations and other transformations should be placed in your paper in an easy to follow manner according to the style requirements of the transformations you have chosen. Show at least one sample calculation of each type
• Make comparisons, note trends
• Include error calculations
• You may want to add a graph (excel)
• Refer to your research question

 

Conclusions

• Discuss how your results answer the question in terms of your hypothesis.
• Discuss sources of error and the limitations of your conclusions. Resolve any alterations in the question or hypothesis sections. In this section, you are evaluating your data and its interpretation. Write this section in paragraph form.
• Where applicable, compare experimentally determined results with literature value; note reference
• Where applicable, calculate % error

 

Evaluation

• Review and evaluate the procedures you used.
• Explain how the procedure was successful as well as how the procedures may have led to an error.
• Suggest modifications to the design of the procedure that would have led to more reliable results and greater validity of conclusions. Write this section in paragraph form.
• Refer to your research question

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