Science Department Lab Report Format
General Information:
o 12 Times New Roman Font – for all text that is not a Title or Headings
o 16 Times New Roman, Bold and Underlined Title and Headings
o Double Spaced
o Always write in third person, past tense (when we went to add the ….. the … spilled over)
o Write in Complete Sentences - except for the materials list
o Do not copy verbatim (word for word) from your partner. The only thing that should be
exactly the same is the data that you collected!
 This is plagiarism and would result in a zero mark and possible further
consequences.
o Title- Heading, Name, Name of Partners, Class Name, Teacher Name, Due Date of Lab
Report
o Introductory Paragraph – This section should be written in complete sentences and
should connect lab concepts to class content. The introduction should provide
background information on how this lab was relevant to the content we have studying in
class and what that content is.
o Objective - The objective is a concise statement in one or two complete sentences
outlining the purpose of the experiment. Begins with the following words: To determine
if….
o Hypothesis: Is a statement that proposes the outcome of the objecting using information
that you know or believe to know about the topic. It should be in the following format:
If____ then_____ because…..
o Materials: (Bulleted List) The materials section is a list of all equipment, reagents
(chemicals), and computer programs that were used to complete the experiment.
Drawings of the apparatus setup should be included in this section if needed. The
materials list must be complete. Indicate how much of each material will be used in the
experiment. The materials can be exactly what was given to you in the lab- with
additional edits if there were changes.
o Procedure: This section is in numbered steps. The procedure is a detailed statement (step
by step) of how the experiment was performed such that the experiment could be
repeated using your report. Safety precautions that were followed should be stated in this
section. The procedure can be exactly what was given to you in the lab- with additional
edits if there were changes.
o Data and Calculations:
A collection of observations, measurements, multiple trials, data tables, charts, and
repeating steps. This section may consist of quantitative and/or qualitative observations
of the experiment. A qualitative piece of data is a written description and/or sketch of
what was seen during the experiment. Quantitative information may be in the form of a
table or simply a written description that includes number. When numerous
measurements have occurred, data is to be placed in a data table whenever possible.
Figure headings are placed below the figure and should give a short description of the
figure.
 All Data tables should be numbered and labeled.
o Results and Conclusions:
The conclusion is written in paragraph form and answers the objective. A portion of the
conclusion should be dedicated to error analysis which discusses any possible sources of
error (2 human and 1 mechanical) that may have contributed to error. The conclusion
should be written in the past tense.
o Accept/Reject Hypothesis – Use your data to support!!
o Further Explain what the results are telling you

Write ATLEAST 1 paragraph describing the information within your table
(this paragraph should come before the Data Table and indicate where the
information is listed in your table.
o How to change the experiment for improved results.
o Answer/Address any Questions posed by the lab or teacher.