LHS Science Department
Course: Biology
Teacher: Ms. Manzella
HOW TO WRITE A FORMAL LAB REPORT FOR THE EGGSPERIMENT LAB
OVERALL FORMAT:
typed with 1.5 spacing, 12 point font, and 1-inch page margins
include header with last name and page number (right aligned)
use bold CAPITAL letters for the heading of each section (left aligned)
USE past tense and correct sentence structure, punctuation, grammar,
paragraph format, and spelling. DO NOT USE personal pronouns (I, me, you, we…)
¨ DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!!!
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COVER PAGE:
¨ Heading (left align)
- Name
- Lab Partner(s)
- Course (Biology)
- Teacher (Ms. Manzella)
- Date Submitted
¨ TITLE OF LAB REPORT
- Should be descriptive and accurately name the lab and report.
¨ SUMMARY (ABSTRACT):
(~1 paragraph)
- A paragraph that briefly summarizes the lab and results. Summary should
cover purpose of the lab experiment, your hypotheses (what you thought would
happen to the egg in each solution), and a brief statement of final results (what
actually happened to the egg in each solution).
REPORT:
¨ INTRODUCTION:
(~2-3 paragraphs)
- In your own words, clearly state the objective(s) or purpose of the experiment.
- Provide background information on they key vocabulary terms that are
referenced in the lab (cell, cell membrane, selectively or semi- permeable,
passive transport, diffusion, osmosis, isotonic, hypertonic, hypotonic) and on
the key concepts (e.g., what happens when a cell is placed in isotonic,
hypertonic, and hypotonic solutions; why an egg without its shell is a good
model of showing osmosis across a cell’s membrane and why, in order to
perform the experiment, the egg needs to be soaked in vinegar first; describe
the concentrations of the solute to solvent in vinegar, syrup, and water).
Formal Lab Report Guidelines
Page 1 of 3
LHS Science Department
Course: Biology
Teacher: Ms. Manzella
(3 sentences)
¨ HYPOTHESIS:
- Concisely state the testable explanation for the initial problem or observation
(What is your educated guess on what will happen to the egg when placed in
vinegar, syrup, and water).
- Your predictions should be written as an “if…then…because” statement. The
following is how you should set up each hypothesis:
If the egg is placed in (vinegar/ syrup/ water) then the egg will (increase/
decrease/ remain the same) in size because (vinegar/ syrup/ water) is a(n)
(hypotonic/ hypertonic/ isotonic) solution.
¨ EXPERIMENTAL:
*Both subsections should be in sentence (or paragraph) form.
- Materials: Include all materials used during the experiment.
- Procedure:
- Identify the manipulated (independent), responding (dependent), and
controlled variables in the experiment.
- Briefly summarize (in your own words) the steps taken to perform the
experiment. You may include labeled diagrams of the experiment setup. Keep
in mind that someone should be able to successfully repeat the experiment
from reading your lab report.
¨ RESULTS:
(~1-3 paragraphs)
- Give the results of your experiment. (*remember to include the appropriate units)
- State what happened to the volume of the solution before and after the egg
was placed in it. (The ___ solution started at 150 mL and decreased/increased to
___ mL after the egg soaked in the solution for two days.)
- State what happened to the egg’s mass. (When the egg was soaked in the ____
solution for two days, its mass went from ___ grams to __ grams.)
- To support your results, refer to tables, charts, graphs, and calculations that
are in the Appendix section. For example you could write, “Please see attached
data sheets to view tables, graphs, calculations, and a more detailed
explanation of the results.” However, try to reference specific data, using
clear statements in the text.
Formal Lab Report Guidelines
Page 2 of 3
LHS Science Department
Course: Biology
¨ DISCUSSION:
Teacher: Ms. Manzella
(~2-3 paragraphs)
- Results are briefly restated and interpreted. What do the results mean and
how do they relate to what is already known about the topic? Relate to
information in introduction.
- Based on what happened to the egg and to the volume of the solutions, which
solutions were hypertonic & which were hypotonic?
- Relate the results to the hypothesis. State if the experiment turned out the
way you predicted (Did it support the hypotheses?). If not, explain why it was
different. What could be the cause of the discrepancy?
- Describe any experimental error that may have occurred. How would this
have affected the results? If you were to redo this experiment, what would
you do differently?
¨ REFERENCES:
- In APA format list sources used. You should have at least two sources.
How to cite lab handout:
Manzella, M. (2012). Eggsperiment lab: demonstrating osmosis.
Lyndhurst High School, NJ.
- All references should be cited in the text.
How to write an in-text citation for lab handout: (Manzella, 2012)
¨ APPENDIX:
– Includes graphs, tables, charts, observations, and calculations referred to in
report.
- Graphs, tables, and charts are used to organize the data collected and should
be clearly labeled and include captions and titles. All tables, graphs, and
charts should be self-explanatory, meaning that you do not need to refer to
text for explanations or to understand them.
- You only need one clear example (equations and units) of each different type
of calculation performed.
* For this lab, instead of recreating the data tables and graphs, you may attach
the Data Collection: Observations & Results sheet you filled out during the
experiment.
Formal Lab Report Guidelines
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