UNIT 11

Making Lab Reports

Objective:
After completing this lesson o! "ill be able to :
- kno" a format for lab report
- e#plain "hat o! $i$ in e#periment
- make lab reports !sing past tense
Lab reports are an essential part of all laboratory courses and usually a significant part of
your grade. If your instructor gives you an outline for how to write a lab report, use that.
Here's a format for a lab report you can use if you aren't sure what to write or need an
explanation of what to include in the different parts of the report. A lab report is how you
explain what you did in experiment, what you learned, and what the results meant. Here
is a standard format for a report on an experiment.
Task 1
%omplete the missing titles b choosing the "or$s from the list&
a. eferences
b. !aterials " Apparatus
c. #itle $age
d. %ata
e. #itle
f. !ethods
g. &igures and 'raphs
h. (onclusions
i. esults
). %iscussion or Analysis
*. Introduction" $urpose " +b)ectives
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-ot all lab reports have title pages, but if your instructor wants one, it would be a single
page that states.
#he title of the experiment.
/our name and the names of any lab partners.
/our instructor's name.
#he date the lab was performed or the date the report was submitted.
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#he title says what you did. It should be brief 0aim for ten words or less1 and describe the
main point of the experiment or investigation. An example of a title would be. 23ffects of
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5ltraviolet Light on 6orax (rystal 'rowth ate2. If you can, begin your title using a
*eyword rather than an article li*e '#he' or 'A'.
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5sually the Introduction is one paragraph that explains the ob)ectives or purpose of the
lab. In one sentence, state the hypothesis. 7ometimes an introduction may contain
bac*ground information, briefly summari8e how the experiment was performed, state the
findings of the experiment, and list the conclusions of the investigation. 3ven if you don't
write a whole introduction, you need to state the purpose of the experiment, or why you
did it. #his would be where you state your hypothesis.
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List everything needed to complete your experiment.
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%escribe the steps you completed during your investigation. #his is your procedure. 6e
sufficiently detailed that anyone could read this section and duplicate your experiment.
9rite it as if you were giving direction for someone else to do the lab. It may be helpful
to provide a &igure to diagram your experimental setup.
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-umerical data obtained from your procedure usually is presented as a table. %ata
encompasses what you recorded when you conducted the experiment. It's )ust the facts,
not any interpretation of what they mean.
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%escribe in words what the data means. 7ometimes the esults section is combined with
the %iscussion 0esults : %iscussion1.
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#he %ata section contains numbers. #he Analysis section contains any calculations you
made based on those numbers. #his is where you interpret the data and determine
whether or not a hypothesis was accepted. #his is also where you would discuss any
mista*es you might have made while conducting the investigation. /ou may wish to
describe ways the study might have been improved.
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!ost of the time the conclusion is a single paragraph that sums up what happened in the
experiment, whether your hypothesis was accepted or re)ected, and what this means.
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'raphs and figures must both be labeled with a descriptive title. Label the axes on a
graph, being sure to include units of measurement. #he independent variable is on the ;-
axis. #he dependent variable 0the one you are measuring1 is on the /-axis. 6e sure to
refer to figures and graphs in the text of your report. #he first figure is &igure <, the
second figure is &igure =, etc.
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If your research was based on someone else's wor* or if you cited facts that re>uire
documentation, then you should list these references.
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Task )
2ere are the instr!ctions for a simple e#periment "ith a magnet& 3o! have j!st
$one this e#periment& No" "rite the report& 4tart like this:
The aim of the experiment was to show why the like poles of a magnet repel and the
unlike poles attract. We took ....................
(ontinue
<.9hy do the li*e poles of magnets repel and the unli*e poles attract@
=. #a*e a sheet of cardboard, a magnet, a handful of iron fillings and a compass.
A. $ut the magnet under the sheet of cardboard and scatter the iron fillings on top of the
card.
B. #ap the edge of the card lightly.
C. #he iron fillings will ma*e a pattern. #hey will form a series of loops between the two
poles of the magnet.
D. $lace the compass on one side of the magnet, and then on the other. /ou will see that
the compass needle follows the loops.
4. #his shows that there are lines of force which leave the magnet at one pole and enter it
again at the other pole.
Task *
Instr!ctions for tempering a steel chisel
<. #a*e a steel chisel.
=. Hold the chisel firmly in a pair of tongs.
A. $lace the chisel in a furnace.
B. Heat it to ?CE degrees (entigrade.
C. #a*e it out of the furnace.
D. Fuench it in tepid water.
4. (lean the tool with emery cloth.
?. 'ently re-heat it over a bunsen burner.
G. 9hen the metal reaches the re>uired temperature, >uench it again.
-ow turn these instructions into a report, li*e this.
&irst we too* a steel chisel. 9e .........
Task +
Rea$ the follo"ing $ialog!e bet"een a teacher an$ a st!$ent&
!etals have different properties, which ma*e them suitable for different )obs. 9hat
properties do you thin* these common metals have. copper, cast iron, lead, aluminium,
steel@
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# . #his is a bar of low carbon steel-blac* or mild steel
#his is a bar of high carbon steel *nown as silver steel. #he carbon content is
approximately <H. #he mild steel has only E.<H. -ow what IIm going to do today
is to see what effect heating has on these two pieces of steel.
&irst, we put them in a vice., then using uniform hammer blows, we will see how
many blows it ta*es to bend them to GEJ. Keep count.
7o how many blows for the high carbon steel@
7 . <4
# . And for the low carbon steel@
7 . G
# . -ow IIm going to heat the other ends of these two bars to a cheey red. (an you tell
me what temperature that will be@
7 . ?EE degrees@
# . /es, ?EE or ?CE degrees (entigrade. -ow IIll put them both in the furnace.
7o now weIve heated the bars to a cherry red and >uenched them in a special type
of oil. -ow we can put them bac* in the vice. (ount how many blows. #his is the
low carbon steel. How many blows@
7 . G again.
# . &ine. And now the silver steel. 7o one blow and it fractured.
9hat effect has heating and >uenching had on these two pieces of steel@
7 . 9ell, the shiny steel wonIt bend anymore.
# . /es, itIs made that one L the silver steel L very brittle. 6ut not the mild steel. so
why has this happened@
Task ,
Make a chart like this& 5ill it in !sing the information from the e#periment&
Aim of the experiment.
#ype of steel lo" carbon high carbon
6lows to bend to GEJ
before heating.
after heating.
3ffect noted.
Task -
There are several names given for each of the t"o pieces of steel& 6rite them $o"n
in t"o lists&
Task .
5in$ "or$s in the $ialog!e "hich mean the same as:
<. easily bro*enM it wonIt bend
=. to brea*
A. to ma*e something hot
B. to ma*e something cooler
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C. hit
D. reflecting light
4. the sameM standar
?. about
Task /
6e "ant to make a report on the e#periment from the $ialog!e& The tense "e !se is
the past tense& In the follo"ing report7 p!t the verbs into the correct tense an$ !se
the information from o!r chart to complete the report&
#he experiment 0be1 .......... to show ............... on steels with different ............... contents.
#he teacher 0ta*e1 .......... two pieces of steel, one with ............... and the other
with ............... . He 0put1 .......... them in a ............... and, using ............... he 0bend1 ..........
them to ............... . #he mild steel bar 0ta*e1 .......... ............... blows and the silver
steel ............... . then the teacher 0heat1 .......... the bars to ............... and 0>uench1..........
them in ................ he 0place1 .......... them in the vice again and 0hit1 .......... them with the
hammer to try to bend the other ends. #he ............... again 0ta*e1 .......... ............... blows
to bend it, but the ............... 0brea*1 .......... with )ust ............... . 9e noted, then,
that ............... and ............... 0ma*e1 .......... the silver steel very ..............., but that
the ...............0show1 ........... no change. 9e 0conclude1 .......... that this effect was due to
the differnce in ............... content of the two steels.
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