GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT LABS
If you miss a lab, see me
to schedule a makeup date as soon as you return to class. Generally you have one week to
make the lab up and turn in the report. There will only be one make up
lab time each week due to the large demand from all my students for extra help
sessions. Due to safety concerns, I am the only person you can work with
to make up the lab. This prevents me from helping anyone else during
that time, limiting the extra help I can provide.
Neatness counts. If you
need to draw a straight line, use a RULER. All graphs are to be done on
Graph Paper Only. Do not use your computer to generate graphs unless I
specifically tell you to. All graphs must have appropriate Titles and
Labels including Units! If you have any questions about the graphs be
sure to ask before the lab report is due.
ORDER COUNTS ! If any section of the lab report is out of order, one point (out of the 30 possible points) will be deducted. The order of all lab reports is: PURPOSE (objective), DATA AND RESULTS (which includes tables, calculations, and graphs (if present)), QUESTIONS, and CONCLUSION.
LAB REPORT FORMAT
Highlight the purpose
(objective) on the first page of the lab if you are turning in the first page
of the handout
(and I will tell you for each lab report). If not , the first page of your
typed report should have your
name, the name of the lab and the purpose copied exactly from the lab handout.
Right after this, type the
title DATA/RESULTS. This section is to contain any tables, calculations, and
graphs. All graphs, tables and calculations may be hand drawn/written
(remember to use a ruler when drawing any straight lines) and MUST be DONE IN
PENCIL. Complete any tables given
in pencil (following the rules of significant digits) and be sure to show your
calculations either next to or below each of the tables that contain the
answers to your calculations. Proper calculations include the equation
with no numbers, the equation with numbers, and the answer with the
appropriate unit. Yes, you must write the answer in two places - in the
given tables and in the calculations. It is after these tables that you should
staple any graphs (if the lab requires graphs).
If the experiment includes
percent error, include it in the tables and show the proper calculations in the
appropriate space.
Then title the next section
QUESTIONS. This section is to contain the answers to any
questions asked in the lab handout. You do not have to re-type the
questions. Be sure your typed answers to the questions are in complete sentences.
The FINAL (and I mean the
last pages of the report) section is your
Conclusion. Title this
section CONCLUSION. Do not discuss what you write in this section with
anyone. This is to be done
on your own. any questions about it, please speak to me.
ALL conclusions start with
a restatement of the objective in the PAST tense. (Ex. The
objective of this lab was to learn methods to determine density.) Then using a brief summary of
the procedures, tell how you attempted to achieve the objective of this lab.
Be sure to go back to the objective to see what you need to discuss to show me
that you tried to achieve this during the lab. You can use the
different parts of the objective to organize the paragraphs of your
conclusion. Provide evidence for your success (or not) at achieving the
objective of the lab by using the actual numbers of your results (numbers you put into
the tables) and/or the results of your graphs.
If the lab involves Percent
error, after you provide your results as evidence, you need to discuss what
the percent error means to the success of the lab. The next part of your
conclusion should include statements like "Since the measured and calculated
values (which you have written in the conclusion previously) were not
equal, we calculated the percent error to be ____ (fill in number). Then
state how it compares to the limit set in class for this particular
experiment, stating that limit as part of your conclusion. If your value
is at or lower than the limit, you can state that you were successful at
achieving the purpose of the lab since your error is below the set limit.
If your value is higher than the limit, then you must state that you were not
successful at achieving the purpose of this lab and include some reasons for
your higher than accepted percent error.
If you have any questions at all about the conclusion, come and talk to me as soon as possible for help. I will be more than happy to help you. FOR THE FIRST QUARTER I WILL PREVIEW YOUR CONCLUSIONS IF YOU GIVE THEM TO ME AT LEAST THE MORNING OF THE DAY BEFORE THE LAB REPORT IS DUE. YOU CAN PICK THEM UP AT THE END OF THE DAY AND THIS WAY YOU CAN TURN IN A CORRECTED COPY OF YOUR CONCLUSION WITH YOUR REPORT AND DEVELOP THE CORRECT STYLE FOR FUTURE CONCLUSIONS. DO NOT OVERLOOK THIS GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY!!
WHEN IN DOUBT, ASK, ASK, ASK!! MY PERMANENT CLASSROOM IS 130 - YOU ARE WELCOME TO STOP BY ANY TIME AND IF I AM NOT TEACHING, COME IN AND ASK ANY QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO!