HOW TO WRITE FORMAL LAB REPORTS

WHAT ARE THE STEPS? 1. Name and Lab partners 2. Period 3. Title 4. Purpose 5. Procedures 6. Data 7. Data Analysis 8. Conclusion

DOING A LAB TOGETHER  ALL LABS START WITH SOME SORT OF QUESTION WE WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO.  Question: How long can the average person hold their breath?  Before we start, we make a prediction:  How long do you think?

STEP1: NAME  At the top of your lab report, write your name.  Underline or highlight your name  In the future, if you do a lab report, you would also write the names of all of your lab partners

STEP2: PERIOD  Below your name, write what period this is

STEP3: TITLE OF LAB  What do you want to title this lab?  It should give a good idea about what the lab is investigating.  Most labs we do will provide a title

STEP4: PURPOSE  The purpose of the lab tells you why you are doing the lab.  It should never be longer than 1 or 2 sentences.  Example: The purpose of this lab is to determine how long the average person can hold their breath.

STEP5: PROCEDURES  The procedure is the part of the lab where you explain how you did the lab.  It should be in steps.  Example: 1. Have a time keeping device ready. 2. Start to hold breath while you start the timer. 3. Stop the timer when you breathe.

STEP 6: DATA  The data part of the lab tells you what you observed or measured.  You will NEVER do any calculations or math in data.  Example: Time breath was held Person 153 seconds Person 246 seconds

COLLECT DATA  For your lab report we are going to collect classroom data.  Everyone is going to time how long they hold their breath. (this is for science, so be honest)  We will create a data table to show the different times

STEP 7: DATA ANALYSIS  This is the part of the lab where you summarize the data.  It is often necessary to do math, create a graph or make a chart.  Example:  To find the average we add the times and divide by the number of people  ALWAYS SHOW YOUR WORK ON LABS

STEP 8: CONCLUSION  The conclusion is where you summarize the results of your lab by ANSWERING THE PROBLEM IN THE PURPOSE:  What was the purpose?  What is the answer?

CONCLUSION  From my calculations, an average person can hold their breath for _________seconds.  In most labs for class, we know the expected answer.  If your answer is different, then you will have to explain possible reasons why (ERROR ANALYSIS)  Example:  Some people breathed during the experiment.

ASSIGNMENT (10 points)  You will design your own experiment. You will:  Come up with some problem you can explore in class... (you may work alone or with your lab partners).  Write the first part of the lab (Name, Period, Title, Purpose and Procedures  Next class you will perform and write up your lab.