8/7/2019 DosDontsLabRep

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/dosdontslabrep 1/2

Physics 121L/131L/122L/132L/123L/133LThe Do ‘s and Don ‘ts of Physics Lab Reports

Lab Reports in general1. Put your Name, Lab Partner’s ‘Name(s), Date Experiment Performed, Instructor’s Name,

Course Number, and Lab title (in words, not a number) on the first page of the lab report.2. Start your conclusion/summary paragraph with an introductory sentence that tells your audience

why you did the lab ( i.e. , the purpose or goal(s) of the lab).3. Never write your summary on your lab/data sheet - use lined paper or type it.4. Always answer questions in complete sentences unless the question is only a numerical

calculation.5. Always include units when mentioning a numerical result in a sentence.6. Do not simply say “human error” as a reason for not getting an expected result … it tells your

audience nothing. Be specific ( e.g. , delay due to reaction time in operating a stop watch).7. Read all steps in the lab procedure so you do not miss out on data you need to complete your lab

report.8. Do NOT say your results are close or agree with the expected if they do not ( i.e. , 0.129 and 23

are NOT pretty close!). When your results are way off (or not what you expected) ASK THEINSTRUCTOR or you may lose points on your lab report.

Graphs9. Draw your graph neatly and set up the axes so that the plot takes up most of the piece of graph

paper and spreads out your data points. Unless instructed, your graph does not need toinclude the origin (0,0).

10. Do not draw more than one graph or plot per sheet of graph paper. This means youdo not draw another graph on the back side of the piece of paper either.

11. Make sure the divisions on the axes of your plots are evenly spaced.12. Do NOT mix units in a graph or they won’t cancel properly in the slope. Use the

same unit for the same type of number on both axes ( e.g. , use N (= kg m/s 2) and m/s 2 NOT Nand cm/s 2.

13. Put a title (in words) at the top that describes what is in graph.14. Label your plot axes with a word description, symbol, and units in parenthesis.

Example: Force, F (N)15. Draw your “best fit” line with a straight edge ( e.g. , a ruler).16. Do not “connect the dots” when drawing a line (straight or curved) to your data,

unless instructed to do so.17. Never use data points to calculate the slope of a line or the y-intercept.18. Draw a small box or circle around each point used to calculate the slope of the

line. Choose two easy to read points that are on the line and are not data points.19. Do not measure the y-intercept off of your graph if your graph does not include the

origin (0,0). Use the equation of a line ( y = mx + b) to solve for the y-intercept algebraically.Measurements and Data/Result Tables20. Put a title (in words) at the top that describes what is in the table. “Table 1” is not

sufficient.21. Put the units in the column (or row) headers, not with the numbers. Exception:

cells in table provided specifically for units.22. Record measurements to the appropriate decimal place that reflects the precision of

the measuring device. For example, if you can measure to the nearest mm (1 mm = 0.1 cm)when using a ruler, a length of exactly three cm would be recorded as 3.0 (with ‘(cm)’ in the

row/ col. header).23. You CANNOT reasonably measure more precisely than ½ the smallest division of

your instrument.24. See # 26 below for listing results of calculations in tables.Calculations

8/7/2019 DosDontsLabRep

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/dosdontslabrep 2/2