How to Write a Lab Report
The purpose of a lab report is to describe your lab experiment in such detail (including what was used, when it took place, who was present, how the lab went, what happened, what results were found, and the overall discussions and conclusions) that your described experiment or lab could be replicated by someone of similar education and training who was not present. A lab report should be written as a description of what you did, not instructions for doing the lab. Another goal (especially at this level) is to thoroughly explain what you did and what you learned.
When writing a lab report, do not use personal pronouns such as "we" or "I", and so on. For example, write, "The egg was placed in a container" rather than "I placed the egg in a container". The report should be written in past tense. Your paragraphs should be one and a half spaced. Choose a professional font and use a font size of 10, 11, or 12. ALL WRITING MUST BE YOUR OWN WORDS even if you were working with other people!
A lab report contains the following components:
Title
The title should be concise (try for less than ten words) and should reflect the factual content or purpose of the lab / paper. A good title is straightforward and uses keywords that researchers in a particular field will recognize (such as ‘pH Lab’, or ‘Virtual pH Lab’).
Introduction
The introduction of a lab report states the purpose of your experiment. Your hypothesis should be included in the introduction, as well
Discuss what you did in this lab and what you will cover in the lab
The mole is a convenient unit for analyzing chemical reactions. Avogadro’s number is equal to the mole. The mass of a mole of any compound or element is the mass in grams that corresponds to the molecular formula, also known as the atomic mass. In this experiment, you will observe the reaction of iron nails with a solution of copper (II) chloride and determine the number of moles involved in the reaction. You will determine the number of moles of copper produced in the reaction of iron and copper (II) chloride, determine the number of moles of iron used up in the reaction of iron and copper (II) chloride, determine the ratio of moles of iron to moles of copper, and determine the number of atoms and formula units involved in
This document is not meant to be a substitute for a formal laboratory report. The Lab Report Assistant is simply a summary of the experiment’s questions, diagrams if needed, and data tables that should be addressed in a formal lab report. The intent is to facilitate students’ writing of lab reports by providing this information in an editable file which can be sent to an instructor.
To conduct your laboratory exercises, use the Laboratory Manual located under Course Content. Read the introduction and the directions for each exercise/experiment carefully before completing the exercises/experiments and answering the questions.
Your Lab Summary: What were the most significant 2 or 3 concepts you learned while doing this Lab?
When your lab report is complete, submit this document to your instructor in your assignment box.
Please explain the purpose of this lab. Include in your explanation the major concepts you learned and any safety concerns associated with the lab.
This document is not meant to be a substitute for a formal laboratory report. The Lab Report Assistant is simply a summary of the experiment’s questions, diagrams if needed, and data tables that should be addressed in a formal lab report. The intent is to facilitate students’ writing of lab reports by providing this information in an editable file which can be sent to an instructor.
I gave you a total of 3 out of 5 on this section. The feedback from the group in this area brought up two points. The first point was the need to include any support staff required to setup and facilitate the lab. The second was to include the teacher that would have the
Instructions: This is a two-part lab. Be sure to follow all steps given in the lab and complete all sections of the lab report before submitting to your instructor.
What is the goal of this lab? What question is it trying to answer, or what problem is it trying to explain?
This document is not meant to be a substitute for a formal laboratory report. The Lab Report Assistant is simply a summary of the experiment’s questions, diagrams if needed, and data tables that should be addressed in a formal lab report. The intent is to facilitate students’ writing of lab reports by providing this information in an editable file which can be sent to an instructor.
1. Lab reports are to be computer-generated and double-spaced. All sections of the report must
The introduction must set the scene for the reader. It should describe why the report has been written, give background information on the subject matter, and explain the method of investigation used along with key ideas.
During my student teaching experience and my first year of teaching, I noticed that many students struggled to coherently write about their results or conclusions at the end of a lab. Therefore, during my second year of teaching, to help my students strengthen their writing skills, I decided to incorporate a few lessons on the procedures of writing a lab report. Once we had covered the essential parts of the “Scientific Method,” we segwayed into discussing the importance of lab reports in the real-world. We talked about how scientists use them to communicate results, as well as discussed how writing them would develop and sharpen my student’s scientific inquiry skills and scientific thinking. Initially, writing a lab report is a very