1. By Mrs. Sinay Grade 8, Team 5 Science

2. * Title : Description of the lab experiment * Purpose: The “Why”? * Procedure: The step-by-step process by which you performed your experiment. * Results: What exactly did you find out from this experiment? * Conclusion: Putting it all together… What does it all mean? * Discussion: After ‘putting it all together’, how does what you learned apply to real life experiences?

3. * When you begin to develop your opening paragraph in your lab report, first consider what the objective of the lab is. Think about what it is you are attempting to find a solution for. When you decide what the problem is that you need to investigate, write a testable question. * Before you continue, take the time to decide how your objective for doing the experiment relates to what we are studying. Ask yourself, “What background information will you need to research about the topic you want to experiment on?” * What will the variables be? What constants are necessary? For example: - Independent Variable: what are you manipulating? - Dependent Variable: what are you going to observe and measure? What are you expecting as an outcome based on your I.V.? - Controls: what will you keep the same throughout the lab?

4. * Think about how you will best carry out the experiment in order to reach your goal. * What will your control (baseline) need to be? * Remember that the control is the trial you compare all your results to; * In your control, your independent variable is typically not included. * Recall that the procedure is sequential and numbered as if you were following a recipe. * If possible, when you are describing a step you may want to include a labeled diagram to illustrate and convey your message to your audience.

5. * Results / Data * In this section you want to be straightforward and present just the facts. * Be sure to have a neatly organized area to document any quantitative (numerical) data & any qualitative data. That is, document what you see, hear, smell, but don’t taste or feel and get permission to use your sense of smell. * Remember, if you don’t accurately document what happens during the experiment, if you state it in your results or conclusions you don’t have any supportive evidence. It will just be your opinion.

6. * As you begin your first paragraph be sure to revisit your original purpose. That is, paraphrase it without restating it verbatim. * Analyze your results and reflect if your hypothesis was supported by your data, or not. * Do you still stand by your original hypothesis? If so, why or why not? * Explain what your data/results mean and use it to back up your hypothesis. It is up to YOU to communicate with your audience. It is NOT up to your audience to figure out what you mean. Do the math and use it to support or refute your hypothesis. * In the second paragraph discuss for your audience what (if anything) went wrong in the experiment and how you might improve the lab. * Discuss how you would apply any learning from this lab to your real world life. * Provide any new questions that you were curious about based on your outcomes of this lab.

7. * The lab report MUST: * be neatly written in pencil * Follow formatting rules modeled in class * All lines must be crisp and drawn with a straight edge * All data must be properly labeled, including units of measure * Graphs must illustrate proper: * Title, x- & y-axis variables w/units of measure, scales must be appropriate for the range of data collected, x & y values must be plotted accurately, and a key or color coding must represent data. * CHECK ALL SPELLING, GRAMMAR, MATHEMATICS, use of formulas, no doodling, smudges, etc… * ****USE THE APPROPRIATE TERMINOLOGY you have learned in the unit of study within your report. Use complete sentences and be critical to present your BEST THINKING as you write to your audience. * ***TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS ! ! !