Name:______________________________________ Date: ________________

Setting up a Laboratory Investigation

The following is a guide for conducting an investigation and recording it in
your science notebook Depending on the investigation! you may not always
need all of the steps bellow or use them in the same order
Tittle: Chose a tittle that describes the investigation.
Purpose: What are you looking for?
"rite what you are trying to find out in the form of a #uestion
Background: What do you know about the topic?
"rite a summary of the background information you have on the topic
that led you to the purpose for the investigation
Hypothesis: What do you predict will happen?
"rite a statement that answers the #uestion that you posed in your
purpose section $%plain what data you predict you will see and why you
are making that prediction
!peri"ental #esign: How will you answer the $uestion?
Describe the investigation methods you will use to answer the
&urpose #uestion
"rite short numbered steps that are easy to follow
'ake a list of the materials you will need
Identify the independent and dependent variables and whether you
will have a control
#ata: What are you finding?
(ecord all observations and measurements )reate a data table* if
appropriate+ for organi,ing and comparing data D- N-T .-(/$T to
record results using proper units of measurement! and write clear
labels for your table columns
#ata %nalysis: &epresent the data in a way that is easily interpreted.
0se graphs! or diagrams! or charts where appropriate to help e%plain
what happened
&esults and Conclusions: What does the data "ean?
1t the end of your investigation:
Summari,e the results
'ake inferences or draw conclusions about the data:
The data show that2
This result likely occurred because2
Think about any errors that occurred during the investigation:
"hat did not go as planned3
"hat limitations of the design! material! or instruments might
have affected the accuracy of the results3
Think of $uestions you still have that could lead to new investigations:
"e would need to investigate further to determine if2
It is still unclear2
'eep track of new ideas that could lead to new investigations:
To investigate this further we might 2
1n interesting thing to do would be to 2
&eflect on the outco"es of the investigation:
This investigation successfully demonstrates that 2
This investigation did not demonstrate
If this investigation were repeated! the results! would be clear if 2
Name:______________________________________ Date: ________________
"riting a .ormal Investigation (eport
0se the information from your science notebook to write a formal report on
the investigation you performed
Tittle: Choose a title that describes the investigation.
%bstract: What were you looking for in the investigation( and what did
you find? "rite a paragraph that summari,es what you already knew
about the topic! your purpose! hypothesis! results! and conclusion
!peri"ental design: Describe materials and investigation methods you
used to answer the #uestion State variables you worked with and any
controls
#ata: What did you find? (eport observations ad measurements Include
an organi,ed data table if appropriate to help someone reviewing your
report to easily see the results Don4t forget to use proper units of
measurement and write clear labels for your table columns
%nalysis: &epresent the data in a way that can be easily interpreted.
0se graphs! diagrams! or charts *where appropriate+ to help a
reviewer interpret your data
Conclusion: What does the data "ean?
Summari,e the data
Discuss your conclusion based on the accuracy of your hypothesis
and the data you collected
Discuss any errors that may have interfered with the results
Describe any changes that need to be made the ne%t time the
investigation is performed
Describe any new #uestions to be investigated based on the results
of this investigation