How to Write a Lab Report What to do and what not to do.

STEP 1 – State the Question The first step to writing a lab report is to tell your audience the question you are trying to answer. For our lab, the question was “How does the size of a paperclip affect how it floats in water?”

STEP 2 – State the Hypothesis The next step is to state your hypothesis. If you are in 5th or 6th grade, you wrote an “if…then…” statement on your page. If you are in 7th or 8th grade, you wrote an “if…then…because…” statement.

STEP 2 – State the Hypothesis Poor example: I think the ____ paperclip will float more easily in water. Good example: If I try to float a small paperclip and a large paperclip, then the _____ paperclip will float more easily (because…)

STEP 3 – Summarize the Procedures This step should be written so that a new person could repeat the experiment. This should be several sentences long. Include the materials you used and all of the steps you followed. Refer to your lab sheet from yesterday for this information.

STEP 3 – Summarize the Procedures Poor example: In this experiment we used a timer, paperclips, tissue paper, a bowl, a pencil, and water. First we put the paperclips in the water. Then we put them on the tissue paper and hit it with the pencil. Then we wrote down our observations.

STEP 3 – Summarize the Procedures Good example: In this experiment we used a timer, small and large paperclips, tissue paper, a bowl full of water, and a pencil with an eraser. To begin the experiment, we fill our bowls with water. We tried floating a large paperclip in the water, and then a small paperclip in the water to see what would happen. We made observations in our chart. We cut a dry piece of tissue paper 5 cm x 3 cm and gently placed it on top of the water. We placed a large paperclip on the tissue paper on the tissue paper and then gently poked the tissue paper with the eraser until it sank. We used our timer to see how long the paperclip floated. We then repeated this step with the small paperclip and recorded our observations in the chart.

STEP 4 – Data (tables, charts, etc.) For this step, you will state your observations. Depending on the experiment, this step could be short or long. If you have a graph or picture, you can copy it onto your lab report or staple it to your lab report and say “See attached sheet”.

STEP 4 – Data (tables, charts, etc.) Poor example: I watched paperclips float. We made a chart. Good example: During this experiment, I saw that, without the tissue paper, paperclips sink in water. When we use the tissue paper, the _____ paperclips are able to float. See attached sheet for an additional chart and graph.

STEP 5 - Conclusion This will usually be the longest part of your lab report. It should be written in paragraph form. It should restate your hypothesis and whether it was correct or not. It should also tell why you think it was correct or not. Next, you should discuss your data. If you took measurements, like time, share those results. 7/8 – state independent, dependent, and control variables. If there are any important vocabulary terms, you should discuss those as well. To end, state what you could do to improve or change this experiment next time.

STEP 5 - Conclusion Poor example: I learned a lot in this experiment. My hypothesis was right because the ____ paperclip floated better. It floated longer than the other paperclip. I don’t have any idea why that happened, but it was cool. I wouldn’t change anything about this experiment.

STEP 5 - Conclusion Good example: In this experiment, I wanted to figure out how paperclip size affects how it floats in water. My hypothesis was if… then… (because…). I was surprised to find out that I was wrong, because when I did the experiment I found out that ____ paperclip actually floats more easily. I think this might happen because it has less mass for the water’s surface tension to hold. When I did this experiment, the small and large paperclip both sank immediately without the tissue paper. Once I used the tissue paper, the _____ was able to float more easily. STATE YOUR TIMES HERE!

STEP 5 - Conclusion There are always variables in an experiment. Some of my control variables were that I used the same temperature and amount of water in the cup, and that my paperclips were made of the same material. My independent variable, or the variable that I changed in the experiment, was the size of the paperclip. The dependent variable, or the variable that I measured, was the amount of time it took for my paperclip to sink. If I did this experiment again, I would try to use more paperclips to see if adding the masses together made a difference. I could also test different colors of paperclips to see if that would make a difference. Another way to change this experiment would be to try different temperatures or types of liquids.