2/10/2016
Joe Chemistry
Page 1 of 2
How to Write a Lab Report (Like a Boss!)
Purpose:
This lab is designed to have you become familiar with the expected lab
reporting format. A good purpose tells why you are performing an
experiment. Keep it short and sweet: It will usually start with “To …”, and
state your objective.
Procedure:
Lab procedures are not written as a recipe, but rather, as a coherent
paragraph or set of paragraphs that explains what you have actually done
in the lab. It should not contain personal pronouns (I, we, you, etc.). For
example, instead of writing “I put sugar in a test tube”, you would write
“Sugar was placed in a test tube”. Nobody care about “I”, “we”, or “you”,
so don’t include it. It should not be a re-write of the procedure you were
given. If you do, I will write “Cookbook” on your lab, meaning: Don’t
write it like directions in a cookbook. I will deduct 50% for the procedure
section if you do. Your lab report should never contain the word “lab”.
Use short, concise sentences. Do not use “connector words” like “then”,
“next”, “also”, “finally”, etc. It should include your hypothesis or model,
if you have one. For example: This procedure will explain what to do for
the rest of this lab assignment.
In order to check your understanding, you need to make sure that your lab
report is presented and turned in with the same styles as this page. The
header will include the due date in the top left corner, your name in the top
right hand corner, and the page number and number of total pages is the
bottom right corner. All lab reports are to include a title that is bold and
centered. All titles must describe what is going on in the lab; creativity is
appreciated as long as it is appropriate. Each section of the lab is identified
using bold, italics, and underlined heading, followed by the appropriate
text. Data tables or graphs should always include units.
Data:
May be a graph or table. Don’t break up a table over two pages.
Period Monday
1
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
st
Academic Chem
Academic Chem
Academic Chem
2nd
Prep
Prep
Prep
3rd
Duty
4/5
Conceptual
Chem
Lunch
Conceptual
Chem - Lab
B
7/8
9th
10th
Conceptual
Chem - Lab
Academic Chem
Lunch
Conceptual
Chem
Prep
Academic Chem
Academic Chem
Lab
Academic Chem
Duty
Duty
Duty
Conceptual
Chem
Lunch
Conceptual
Chem
Conceptual
Chem
Lunch
Conceptual
Chem
Prep
Conceptual
Chem
Lunch
Conceptual
Chem
Prep
Academic Chem
Academic Chem
Academic Chem Lab
Prep
2/10/2016
Analysis:
Joe Chemistry
Page 2 of 2
In this section, you will be asked to complete any computations and make
analysis of the data you collect. Discuss the results you obtained. All
graphs must be explained! A graph with no explanation is worthless. How
do you interpret your results? Do your interpretations support or refute
your model? Why or why not? What you might normally think of as a
“conclusions” belongs here.
Hint: Use the questions given in the lab handout to guide your analysis:
They are usually the questions you should be asking yourself about the
experiment. However, don’t limit yourself to this.
Conclusion: This part of the report is where you will identify error associated with the
experiment. PLEASE NOTE: “Human error” is carelessness. If there is a
human error in the experiment, that human should be re-doing it. It is not
an acceptable source of error. Error is a description of the precision of
your measurements. All measurements have some degree of error,
meaning uncertainty, not mistakes (significant figures). If you didn’t make
any measurements, there should be no error, but this must be stated.
The words “in conclusion” should never appear in your conclusion.
You should also state any proposal for future experiments based on your
results.
Response:
This section of the report is intended for your personal response to the lab.
You may identify enjoyment, displeasure, and/or any other unusual
circumstances you feel the teacher should know about. Be honest, but
please be respectful.