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The following titles and subtitles should be used for your lab report.
Planning (a)
Question – must be focused and not ambiguous in any way
• make it clear what you are investigating (use a little ‘how’ and
‘why’)
• The reader should be able to deduce the point of the investigation
from this sentence alone.
• e.g. “Osmosis: investigating the effect of solute concentration on the
weight of potato discs, when submerged in a range of concentrations
of salt solution for 2 hours”.
Hypothesis – make your prediction & then give a logical supported rationale
• Academic Honesty: remember to cite your sources of information
properly
Planning (b)
Protocol Diagram – draw & label a diagram which best shows the protocol you used –
most likely in the form of a flow chart
Photograph of Lab Setup – annotate this to show how variables were
Instituted, especially the controls. Do not just label equipment.
• You may use a cell phone for this but let me know in advance what
you are doing so I don’t take you phone from you!
Procedure – write in paragraph form, passive voice, and past tense….be sure to
emphasize how many times each data set is being repeated (3 is minimum)
• Include details of how to measure your independent and dependent
variables.
• Give precise details of values, units and equipment
• Make sure you are collecting enough data – how large does your
sample size need to be?
• How many times will you repeat your investigation to ensure reliable
results?
Data Collection
Raw Data Table - Make sure this is raw data only. Data table design & clarity is
important. A title should be given (Raw Data Table is not a data table title, it is a lab report
section title) Make sure that all columns, etc. are properly headed & units are given. Forgetting
one unit or misidentifying one unit is enough to drop your score in this section. Do not “split” a
data table (putting part of a table on one page and finishing it on another). If you absolutely have
to split a table (due to quantity of data), make sure that you re-do the title and all column
headings. Uncertainties can be given within column headings for equipment precision and as
footnotes beneath data tables for other types of uncertainties.
Limitations of Experimental Design – this paragraph section discusses how well your
experimental design helped answer your experimental question. What worked well (and why)
and what did not work well (and why). This must be a worthwhile evaluation of the method
chosen, rather than a superficial commentary on poor lab techniques and sloppy work. “I should
measure more accurately” is a problem with your practical skills, rather than the method of
investigation.
• Did you record any anomalies in your practical work? How did they
affect your results and what did you do to minimize their adverse
effects?
• What weaknesses were present in the method chosen for the
investigation and how could they have affected the outcome?
• Did anything occur during the investigation to comprise the reliability
of your results?
Suggestions for Improvement - this section should be used for two purposes.
1) what minor improvements could be made to the design features that you just
mentioned in the previous section that would perhaps lead to better results
next time
2) what suggestions do you have for other possible experimental designs that
may work better for answering this question