The College Board program has required that all AP Biology students participate in 13 labs on specific topics. Although these labs are written and designed by College Board, individual teachers and students have freedom within each lab. The basic bones of each lab are fair game for the AP exam in May, therefore you’ll want to keep track of everything you do for these labs. That is why for each AP lab you’ll be keeping track of your entire experiment in a single lab notebook.
Every lab handout will have a more specific list of what you need to include in your notebook for full credit. Below is a generic summary of each requirement and the point value for each. These points cannot be made up or redone so be sure to put the necessary time and effort into your answers.
1.
Date of the lab (2 pts)
2.
Title of the lab (2 pts)
3.
Objective of this lab (3 pts) a.
In one to two sentences you will explain the purpose of the lab you are performing. This can usually be found in the introduction of the lab handout
4.
Manipulated variable for the lab (2 pts) a.
On at least one section of a lab you will have to provide me with the variable that you, as the experimenter, have altered. Be specific and clear.
5.
Responding variable for the lab (2 pts) a.
You will also have to provide the variable you are testing, calculating, measuring, observing, etc. Be specific and clear.
6.
Three controls for the lab (2 pts each) a.
For the same section that you provided a manipulated and responding variable you will also provide three controlled variables. These are variables that i.
You actually controlled ( No: “All trial objects fell at the speed of gravity”) ii.
Had potential to affect the experiment ( No: “All trials occurred on a table”) iii.
Are specific and clear ( No: “We used the same supplies”)
7.
Write a hypothesis (3 pts) a.
Use the “If/Then” format. The manipulated and responding variables identified earlier must match the hypothesis here.
8.
Conclusion with the following components (5 pts) a.
Briefly summarize the hypothesis and whether it was correct or not (1 pt) b.
Provide two pieces of evidence to support your statement. The evidence can't be random but must directly tie into your hypothesis (2 pts) c.
Provide an error analysis (either an accidental error that occurred or an inherent problem with the lab design that couldn’t be avoided) (1 pt) d.
Provide 1-2 sentences of a “concluding statement” (the bottom line) (1 pt)
9.
Next Experiment (3 pts) a.
Based on what you learned in this lab, what would you do in the next experiment to further your knowledge? Why did you choose this? Must be related to what you learned in this lab.
10.
Answer any specific questions for this particular lab (3-4 pts each)

AP Lab Notebook Grading Scale
Lab Criteria 0 points 1 point 2 points 3 points
Not present or correct
Not present Objective is vague or incorrect.
Present and Correct
Not present or not a variable
Not present or not a control
Summarizes the procedure for the lab OR only provides an objective for part of the lab
Correctly explains the PURPOSE of the lab (what we want to discover) not merely summarizing the procedure.
Variable is incorrect, written in an incomplete sentence, or too vague
Control is too vague, not specific to the lab, or an incomplete sentence.
Not present Hypothesis is present but not in the
“if/then” format.
Variable is correct, written in a complete sentence, and specifically stated (no vague terms)
Each control is relevant to the experiment, a complete sentence, and specifically stated (no vague terms)
Format is “if/then” style. Either variables are not identical to the
MV and RV indicated above or the reason is too non-specific for the lab and shows little critical thinking
Present and is relevant to the tested hypothesis
Format is “if/then” style, and both variables mentioned are identical to the MV and RV indicated earlier.
Reason is plausible and specific to the lab, not a generic idea
Not present Present
Not present Present, but irrelevant to tested hypothesis
Not present Present
Not present 1-2 sentences wrapping up the
“take-away” of the experiment
Not present Present, but no reason is provided.
Seems like a random idea.
Not present Answer contains poor grammar; a guess is attempted but inadequately explained.
Present, but relevance or connection to the current lab is confusing or absent. A reason is provided.
Contains proper grammar; correct answers are provided.
Shows forward thinking (taking what was learned in this lab and expanding on it). A reason is also provided.
Contains proper grammar; explanations show understanding of the idea and evidence of critical thinking beyond just an answer.
Each table and graph is worth 5 points. Every component listed below NOT included will incur -2 points
Correct Title
Correct X/Y-axis labels
Correct X/Y-axis intervals
Manipulated Var. on X-axis
Responding Var. on Y-axix
Correct data described
Key provided
Majority of page used
Graph paper used (or lines neatly drawn)