Periodic Table of Elements

A laboratory report is a neatly written account of your experiment. It should be written in your lab notebook in ink (black or blue). Your lab report should contain the following sections.

•  Title, number and date of your experiment.

•  Name of your partner(s) .

•  PURPOSE : This is a clear statement of why you are doing the experiment. Often, the purpose can be stated as a question.

•  HYPOTHESIS : This is a statement of what you think the outcome will be. Typically it is phrased in the form of “If I change the temperature, then the item will get hotter.”

•  PROCEDURE : This section, if required, is a step by step outline of what you will do in the experiment.

•  DATA AND OBSERVATIONS : This section includes all of the measurements and observations from your experiment. It is extremely important that you record all data directly into your lab notebook. Whenever possible, make yourself a data table. It will be to your advantage if you design the table before coming to lab. It is also important that you label all measurements with proper units. Failure to do so will result in a loss of points.

•  CALCULATIONS : Many experiments have calculations. Always indicate the formula or method you have used to arrive at the final answer. You do not need to show the actual operation (division, addition, etc.), I assume that you use a calculator for this.

•  DISCUSSION : This is where you give explanations for the observations you made in the experiment. The answers to questions found in each experiment are to be answered here in COMPLETE SENTENCES.

•  SOURCES OF ERROR : List any possible sources of errors that can affect the results of the experiment and explain how the error affects the experiment. The error does not need to be something that specifically happened in your experiment, but what could have happened. Be specific!! For example, human error is not acceptable. A minimum of three errors must be listed.

•  CONCLUSION : Your conclusion should be related to the purpose. It should be a clear and concise statement of what you learned from the experiment or answer the purpose if it was a question. It should NOT be longer than 3 sentences.

 

SPECIAL NOTES

•  It is very important that you read the experiment PRIOR to class. A clear understanding of the procedure and purpose will help you save time in the lab.

•  If you make mistakes in your report, cross out the mistakes by a single line. DO NOT USE WHITE OUT!!

Basic Information      Title                       Date of experiment                  Your Name                    Partner’s Name	Y / N Y / N Y / N Y / N
Purpose       Clearly stated and in a complete sentence?           Does it match the intent of the lab?	Y / N Y / N
Hypothesis      Is there a prediction of the outcome?	Y / N
Data & Observations                       Is all data listed?               Is data properly labeled?               Are values reasonable?                Do observations represent what should have happened?          Are observations sufficiently detailed?            Are both data & observations organized for easy understanding     and are tables used and labeled appropriately?	Y / N Y / N Y / N Y / N Y / N Y / N
Calculations          Is the general formula shown?               Are all calculations shown?             Are units of measurement included?	Y / N Y / N Y / N
Discussion     Based on experimental results, does the answer make sense?        Are the questions answered in complete sentences?	Y / N Y / N
Sources of Error              Do the errors listed result from the design of the experiment?         Are at least three major errors listed?             Is a brief explanation of each error given?	Y / N Y / N Y / N
Conclusions         Do the conclusions use the data & observations of the experiment to             clearly answer the purpose?	Y / N
Graphs        Clearly & appropriately labeled               Neatly drawn              Titled                     Point plotted correctly                 Curve/line drawn accurately	Y / N Y / N Y / N Y / N Y / N
Details        Neat and organized                  Correct spelling                    Blue or black pen	Y / N Y / N Y / N

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