Lab reports
And how to write them
Parts of a lab report
Purpose:
Materials:
Procedure:
Data/Observations:
Calculations/Analysis:
Questions/Conclusion:
*yes, use the words as section headers
Purpose
The purpose of this lab was to…
Include 3-4 sentences of background
information that explain the science behind
the experiment
If there is a hypothesis it goes here
Materials
• If you used it, then you must list it
here.
• Items can be bulleted, no need
for paragraphs
• Safety concerns are listed here
too. EXPLAIN THESE!
Procedure
A procedure is always written as a paragraph.
It is NOT bulleted. It is written in past tense,
without the use of I, we, you, he, she etc…
DON’T: I lighted the bunsen burner
DO: The bunsen burner was lighted.
Tell us what YOU did, not what you were
supposed to do. Some of the greatest
discoveries occurred by accident
Data/Observations
• Whatever data was recorded as
you performed your lab will be
re-written here.
• Use tables and charts, label
everything completely
Calculations
• When calculations are needed they MUST be
explained
• An example of the formula you will use is
written first
• Every calculation is performed on a separate
line neatly and clearly
EX: Denisty (g/mL) = Mass (g) / Volume (mL)
Densitysample 1 = 25.0 g / 5 mL = 5 g/mL
Analysis
• If you are asked to identify an “unknown” it
would appear in this section.
• Ex: Unknown #1 – appeared Blue-green in
color, based on the colors recorded in Data
section this allows us to conclude unknown #1
must be copper (this is NOT the answer for
our flame test lab unknown #1)
Questions
• If you were asked to answer questions as a
part of your lab, they should appear here.
• Re-write the question and provide answer OR
re-phrase the question as a part of your
answer. Answers without context will receive
deductions. Remember, anyone should be
able to understand your lab report even if
they never did the lab.
Conclusion
Remind your audience, what were you trying to
do? What was the purpose? Here is where you
comment on successes and failures, be sure to
highlight major learnings. We used flame tests
to identify unknowns…
OR… We attempted to use flame tests but my
lab partner went crazy and set the lab on fire,
we will need to try again tomorrow…