Formal Lab Report Guidelines
A good lab report is typed with appropriately labeled drawings, images, tables, and/or graphs. The
graphs will be generated with Excel (or any similar program). Lab data is the result of individuals
working together as groups while lab reports are the result of individual work and effort. You will
usually have one week to complete reports on major labs.
TITLE/NAMES/DATE (2 points): At the top of each report (or on a cover page), include the title, your
name, your partners’ names, and the date the experiment began.
PURPOSE (2 points): State the objective of the lab in your own words.
HYPOTHESIS (2 points): The hypothesis is a statement of what you anticipate your experiment will
prove. This statement will be made before beginning the experiment. Include justification of your
hypothesis using preliminary observations and the knowledge of physical principles discussed in class.
MATERIALS (2 points): This is a list of materials used.
PROCEDURES (12 points): Include a brief outline or summary of how you completed the experiment.
Then list all the steps required to complete the experiment (including the steps required to analyze your
data) so that anyone who reads the procedure may replicate your experiment exactly. Diagrams of the
lab setup can be included here.
Data (25 points): In this section you report the data that you collected. All numerical values must
include units, and must be reported to the appropriate amount of significant digits.
Analysis (30 points): This section includes all the graphs that you generated as well as the calculations
you completed. Graphs should be made using Microsoft Excel or an equivalent program. All literal
calculations should include a sample calculation using data. Every calculation does not need to be
shown.
CONCLUSION (25 points)
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Answer any and all assigned questions in complete, meaningful sentences that do not have
pronoun subjects.
The final paragraph is the conclusion paragraph. You can follow these general guidelines:
o 1 sentence: State the overall results of your lab
o 2-3 sentences: Identify sources of error in your lab and how you might be able to
improve your performance or prevent the error from occurring. DO NOT cite faulty lab
equipment or human error. State exactly how the equipment was at fault and exactly
what human error occurred. Be specific.
o 2-3 sentences: What do your results mean? Did your experiment support your
hypothesis? What fact do my results prove?
BHS AP Physics C
2011/2012