Write up a formal report after your experiment.
Lab reports are an essential part of all laboratory courses and usually a significant part of your grade. If your instructor gives you an outline for write a lab report, use that. What follows is a standard format for a lab report you can use if you aren't sure what to write or need an explanation of what to include in the different parts of the report. A lab report is how you explain what you did during an experiment, what you learned and what the results meant.
Instructions
1. Create a title page that will act as a cover letter for your report. List the name of the experiment, your name and the name of any assistants or partners, as well as any instructor name (if relevant). Include the date that the experiment was performed and the date of the submission/authoring of your lab report. Do not begin writing your report on this front page, but rather leave the rest of the page blank and skip to the second pageto begin reporting.
2. Write an introduction that summarizes the purpose and objective of your scientific experiment. Note how the experiment is performed and the intended question that the lab tries to answer. State your hypothesis, and follow with your findings and conclusions. Limit yourself to one paragraph.
3. List your materials. Include anything you used in your experiment. Note the amounts used of each item, or any particularities.
4. Write down your method. Detail each step you followed in conducting your lab to the extent that a reader would be able to understand your instructions exactly and produce the same results. Speak as though you are giving directions, or writing a recipe.
5. Create a table that conveys any data gathered during experimentation. Record the results of each step in your method here. Follow with a paragraph describing what these results mean in your own words, relevant to your hypothesis. Include any calculations you made with the data you gathered, as well as any outside factors that may have changed or affected the outcome of your experiment in any way.
6. Draw conclusions. Wrap up the report by stating how right or wrong your hypothesis was, and why. Include graphs or charts that demonstrate or summarize these conclusions. Talk about what your results mean. Be sure to list any outside references at the end of the report.
Tags: your experiment, your hypothesis, your report, data gathered, each step
