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writing a lab report



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Tue Mar 06, 2007 3:53 pm
Meep says...



Uhm, so I have a lab report due tomorrow, and I have zero idea how to go about writing one. I emailed the teacher, but she hasn't gotten back to me and I'm not sure she will because she can be kind-of a spaz.
So, for those of you still in high school: how do teachers generally expect lab reports to be written? I found something that said lab reports should be written in third person and passive, but what I really need to know is how these things are graded, and what teachers usually look for.
I haven't taken a science class in two years now, so I'm more than a little bit rusty.
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 4:38 pm
Wiggy says...



Just make sure you include all of the information relevant to the experiment. I generally have it something that goes like this:
(Note: the following three are all centered)
Name
JMJ (You don't have to put this-it stands for Jesus, Mary, Joseph)
Title of experiment

(Note: the next are on the normal left margin)
Experiment #:
Date:

Supplies:

Data: (this includes any mathematical equations or pictures you needed)

Second page:
(centered)
Purpose:

Procedure: (This is the part where you strictly put what you DID in the experiment. Do not put why or what happened. Just put what you did.)

Conclusion: This is the most important part of the lab report. You tell what happened and most importantly WHY it happened. Don't repeat what happened in the procedure, just repeat what came of the steps in the procedure. My science teacher grades us mostly on this part, and I imagine yours would too.

I really hope this helped. You can also google lab report and there will probably be some examples you can look at.

Good luck! Out of curiosity, which science are you taking?
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 4:41 pm
Meep says...



Okay, thanks.

I Google'd "how to write a lab report," but all I could find was college level/how to write a lab report for a peer reviewed scientific journal sort of thing, no high school stuff.
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 4:48 pm
Sureal says...



Write what you want to find out,

Write out your method (how you're going to do it - written in future tense), including equipment list,

Write out results (in tables, draw any relevant graphs),

Analyse your results (what do they tell you?),

Evaluate how the experiment went, include suggestions for improvement, explain any odd looking results,

Put on risk assessment (potential dangers of experiment, including dangers of any chemicals used, and how to clean away safely).


Although, that's for the A Level Applied Science course in England.
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 4:54 pm
Lilyy03 says...



I'm not sure about highschool, but in my uni chemistry classes it's been....

1. Introduction
Don't make this part too long. Briefly give an overview of what the experiment was and why it was important. What were you trying to prove or determine? Also, if it's about chemistry, you could include the reaction being observed.

2. Experimentals
The procedure of what you did. One of my current teachers says that another person should be able to completely recreate the experiment from reading your experimentals section.

3. Results
Basically, the data you obtained.

4. Discussion
Discuss your results and what they mean, as well as any problems you ran into. Which leads into...

5. Conclusion
Succintly summarize your results and discussion. What was the outcome/what did you learn? These are basically the "bottom lines".

Though, different teachers may have different expectations. Like in one of my classes there's a pre-lab section we have to do. We need to include tables of data about the chemicals we'll use, diagrams of our set-up, spectroscopic comparison between starting materials and products, plus some assigned questions. The post-lab is pretty much what I described above.
  





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Tue Mar 06, 2007 8:56 pm
Meep says...



Thanks for your help guys, but I have one more question: do I label things "introduction," "procedure," "results," &c., or do I write it like a regular essay?
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 9:07 pm
Lilyy03 says...



Hmm. I've always labeled the different sections and I think most other people do too. :) It makes things a bit clearer I think...
  





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Tue Mar 06, 2007 9:16 pm
Meep says...



Okay, thanks very much, all.
I'll tell you how I do, eh.
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Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:25 pm
Meep says...



Well, it turned out that by "lab report" the teacher meant "answer these five questions on the back of the lab on a seperate sheet of paper" not "write a full, formal lab report," which is what I did. :oops: She's the forgiving type, though, so she accepted my lab and graded it instead of the homework. I got an A.
Thank you, guys!
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