COLD
SPRING HARBOR HIGH SCHOOL
LABORATORY REPORT FORMAT
1.
Heading-
Include the title: name of the lab as described by the manual or provided
by the teacher. Include your name, date and lab number.
2.
Safety Precautions-
Describe all steps and measures taken to ensure that the experiment is
conducted in a controlled, safe manner.
3. Purpose-
A single statement describing what measurement will be made,
what relationship will be investigated or what skill will be mastered.
4. Hypothesis-
If
., then
.should occur.
5.
Materials and Equipment-
A list of all materials and equipment necessary
to conduct the experiment.
6. Procedure
A concise
explanation of how the laboratory experiment will be carried out. This should
be written in paragraph form. Diagrams might be included and referred to in
this section. Any large diagrams should be attached to the end of the lab and
labeled Appendix I, II, etc.
7. Data tables, Graphs, and
Observations
8. Theory and Discussion
This is the most important part
of the lab report. The bulk of the grade will be determined from this
section. Describe, in your own words, the reasons for what
happened in the experiment. State all illustrated scientific principles.
Include all results and then describe what these results mean and how they
apply to what you know. Use any additional drawings, diagrams, explanations,
and graphs as necessary to make your case convincing. If you use any
reference books, cite your sources of information. You must cite the sources
of error in the experiment and their effect on the results. Did the error
make the data go too high or too low? Why? Include suggestions on how to
improve the experiment by reducing or eliminating these sources of error.
9. Conclusion
A single
statement of conclusion, relating to your purpose or hypothesis. The conclusion
should include the numerical value of the experiment as well as the percent
error, when appropriate.