Osmosis lab report Outline guidelines
Refer to your general lab write up instructions for formatting. You will include: heading, title, introduction,
graph & brief summary of result, and a conclusion. ONLY – do not add sections. The tone should be formal – in
3rd person. Be clear and specific – avoid pronouns such as, it and they.
1. Introduction:
a. What did the lab demonstrate?
b. What do you have to know to understand what happened in the lab?
i. Osmosis:
ii. cell membranes:
iii. types of solutions:
iv. surface area to volume ratios and its affect on cell size
c. What key facts were on the instruction given for the lab?
d. What were the 3 hypotheses tested?
e. Generally what was the set up of the lab (brief overview – think of the entire class)?
2. Results
a. A clearly labeled graph with an informative title and a key
b. A brief (2 sentence) description what is shown on the graph.
3.
Conclusion
a. EXPLAIN your results. Show your logic clearly, step by step how you came up with your
conclusions about the lab.
i. What does it mean that the potato cores gained or lost weight?
ii. What would an isotonic solution be?
iii. If the slope of the 2 core sizes were different explain why in terms of the concepts we
covered in class
iv. Do you accept or reject each hypothesis?
v. If you think there were mistakes in your data explain what could have gone wrong.
vi. Think of the big picture about cells in general and what they need to live – how do the
concepts explored in this lab apply?
Osmosis lab write-up basic rubric (check off after proof reading your paper) -100pts
Format:
Typed: 12 pt font, double spaced, 1 inch margins, Times New Roman or Aril
Header: Name & period
Headings: centered, bold, informative title – no extra sections
Introduction:
Clear explanation of osmosis & cell membranes, types of solutions, what the hypothesis was, general set up of
lab & what was measured & why
Results as Graph:
Line graph, axis labeled, informative title, correct units & axis, 2 lines & key for lines. A brief explanation of
graph.
Conclusion:
It includes an explanation of results in terms of solution types and osmotic flow. It has an estimation of isotonic
for potato cells. It has a statement of acceptance or rejection hypothesis. Includes a comparison of slope of both
lines and a clear interpretation of results with reference to the concepts studied.
Staple report as follows: Pg 1: heading, title, introduction, hypothesis, brief results, Pg: 2 graph, pg 3:
conclusion, pg 4: works cited, pg 5: pre-lab, pg 6: lab sheet