Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Lab Reports Objective: Understand and be able to meet lab report requirements and expectations Please pass in Test Review Fermi Problems

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Data Collection USE INK Title computation paper Write all original data on data sheets Do not color over or erase info on data sheets – put a line through it Copying data from lab partner is fine, but analyses should be your own LAST NAME, FIRST NAME TITLE OF WORK 17-SEP-10 Page 1 of 4

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Lab Report – Purpose Scientifically-literate people, who are perhaps not entirely familiar with the particular area of science in question, should be able to replicate your experimental setup and procedures (perhaps benefiting from your hints and suggestions), obtain similar data, and follow the logic of your calculations and conclusions based only on what you have written in your lab report. They should be able to tell exactly what you did, why you did it, when, and with whom.

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Lab Reports – Formatting 1.5 spacing Times New Roman or Calibri font Make it all look good – easier to read, understand, trust Tables, graphs, diagrams, etc. – Captions – Center on page – Refer to them in text, otherwise why have them? – Self-explanatory; reader should understand them without explanation – Every table column and graph axis should be labeled with Quantity, Symbol, and Units. Exception: titles of graphs Make no judgments regarding the data until the Discussion section

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Lab Report – Overview What is in your lab report (abstract) What you were looking to find out (introduction) What you did (procedure) What you observed (results) What your results mean (conclusion) Giving credit where it’s due (acknowledgements and references) Additional information for reference (appendices)

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Appendices ABSTRACT What you Did What you’re looking for Lab Report – Overview What’s the Significance What you Observed IntroductionProcedureResultsDiscussion

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Lab Report – Contents Title 1.Abstract (Hickam) …………………… Introduction (Kilby) …………………… Procedure (Hickam) ………………… Results (Kilby) ……………………………………..4 5.Discussion/Conclusion (Hickam) ………….5 6.Acknowledgments ………………………………6 7.References ……………………………… Appendices (Kilby) ………………………………7

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Lab Report – Introduction 1.Purpose – What’s your hypothesis? – What are you intending to find out? – What questions will be answered? 2.Background/Theory – Why will your experiment answer your questions? – How will the data you collect, analyze, and interpret tell you something substantive? IntroductionProcedureResultsDiscussion

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Good Example – Introduction “A pendulum is slowed on its upswing and accelerated on its downswing by gravity. In an ideal, frictionless [vacuum] environment, a pendulum would never cease to swing.” Good Example – Introduction

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Good Example – Introduction “A pendulum is slowed on its upswing and accelerated on its downswing by gravity. In an ideal, frictionless [vacuum] environment, a pendulum would never cease to swing.”

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Lab Report – Procedure 1.Equipment and Materials – List all equipment and materials used in lab, including instrument #’s, model and serial numbers (if known) – Diagram of experimental setup (label variables if possible) – Notes on setting up the equipment 2.Experimental Procedure – Paragraph summary of procedure taken – Include info relevant to your lab (e.g. if you used m instead of 0.80 m, say m) – Any additional procedure required to answer lab questions IntroductionProcedureResultsDiscussion

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Good Example – Procedure

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Lab Report – Results The results section should summarize the data from the experiments without discussing their implications. Do not duplicate data provided in one format (e.g. table) by including in another format (e.g. graph) 1.Data – Original (raw) data only is displayed in this section – Introduce all tables/graphs prior to displaying them (this does not mean you need to analyze them prior to displaying them) – If tables are large, provide only a sample in report and refer to full table in appendix – Graphs are a much better communication than tables 2.Data Analysis 3.Uncertainty and Error IntroductionProcedureResultsDiscussion

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Lab Report – Results 2.Data Analysis – Sample of each calculation performed on data – Graphs of calculations (e.g. log-log plots) 3.Uncertainty and Error – No conclusions can be drawn without uncertainty/error – Informs you of data trustworthiness, repeatability, bias, external effects – Give calculations and estimation reasons for uncertainty for all measurements – Error (% error is best) should be calculated when true/accepted value is known – Must show error from measurements propagated through calculations and graphs IntroductionProcedureResultsDiscussion

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Key: Passive vs. Active – Be Consistent 1 Sig Fig for Uncertainty Period uncertainty should be the same Explain how you got uncert. Quantify!

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Lab Report – Discussion/Conclusion The meat of the lab report: 1.Give a brief recap of your question and hypothesis. 2.Was your hypothesis correct? 3.What happened and why? 4.Were there any difficulties with the experiment? Is there any reason to disbelieve your results? 5.How could you improve the experiment? 6.Do these results suggest any follow-up experiments? 7.Answer all lab questions. Be Specific and Quantitative – back it up with numbers, or else you probably shouldn’t say it IntroductionProcedureResultsDiscussion

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Good Example – Disc./Concl. See example 2 at the end of this lesson

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Abstract Lab Report – Abstract Completed after the four main sections One-paragraph ( words) Summarizes: – Purpose – Procedure – Significant results IntroductionProcedureResultsDiscussion

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Good Example – Abstract 65 words, and it just about says it all Missing specific relationship between period and length, mass, and amplitude

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Lab Report – Other Stuff Acknowledgments – Only required when using someone else’s data – Acknowledged in body of report and here as well References – Cite using Council of Science Editors (CSE) – Appendices – Table of Contents – Includes relevant data not pertinent to comprehension of lab report; reader should not be referred to appendix in order to understand the conclusions you draw or the graphs you make – Each appendix begins with a description of its contents

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Indent these notes Good Example – Appendix

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Good Lab Report Examples 1.2 nd Example on page: _reports.htm _reports.htm 2.Great example, including error/uncertainty under analysis section

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott Lab Reporting Supplement Handout Review H-10 Lab Reporting Supplement