Video:How to Write a Lab Report
with Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.The formula for how to write a lab report can be tricky if you're not used to writing in that way. See this video lesson on how to write a lab report that will be thorough and just what your teacher or professor is looking to receive.See Transcript
Transcript:How to Write a Lab Report
A lab report is how you explain what you did in experiment, what you learned, and what the results meant. Here is a standard format.Title Page of a Lab Report
Not all lab reports have title pages, but if your instructor wants one, it would be a single page that states:- The title of the experiment
- Your name and the names of any lab partners
- Your instructor's name
- The date the lab was performed or the date the report was submitted
Title for a Lab Report
The title says what you did. It should be brief and describe the main point of the experiment or investigation. An example of a title would be: "Effects of Ultraviolet Light on Borax Crystal Growth Rate".Introduction/Purpose for a Lab Report
Usually the Introduction is one paragraph that explains the objectives or purpose of the Experiment.Materials Section of a Lab Report
List everything needed to complete your experiment.Methods for a Lab Report
Describe the steps you completed during your investigation. This is your procedure. Be sufficiently detailed that anyone could read this section and duplicate your experiment.Data for a Lab Report
Numerical data obtained from your procedure usually is presented as a table.Results for a Lab Report
Describe in words what the data means.Discussion or Analysis for a Lab Report
The Data section contains numbers. The Analysis section contains any calculations you made based on those numbers. This is where you interpret the data and determine whether or not a hypothesis was accepted.Conclusions for a Lab Report
Most of the time the conclusion is a single paragraph that sums up what happened in the experiment, whether your hypothesis was accepted or rejected, and what this means.Figures & Graphs for a Lab Report
Graphs and figures must both be labeled with a descriptive title. Label the axes on a graph, being sure to include units of measurement. The independent variable is on the X-axis. The dependent variable (the one you are measuring) is on the Y-axis.References for a Lab Report
If your research was based on someone else's work or if you cited facts that require documentation, then you should list these references.Thanks for watching. To learn more, visit About.com
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