Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Lab Reports

Objective:Understand and be able to meet lab report requirements and expectations

Please pass in Test Review Fermi Problems

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Data Collection• USE INK• Title computation paper

• Write all original data on data sheets• Do not color over or erase info on data sheets – put a line

through it• Copying data from lab partner is fine, but analyses

should be your own

LAST NAME, FIRST NAME TITLE OF WORK 17-SEP-10 Page 1 of 4

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Lab Report – Purpose

• Scientifically-literate people, who are perhaps not entirely familiar with the particular area of science in question, should be able to replicate your experimental setup and procedures (perhaps benefiting from your hints and suggestions), obtain similar data, and follow the logic of your calculations and conclusions based only on what you have written in your lab report. They should be able to tell exactly what you did, why you did it, when, and with whom.

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Lab Reports – Formatting • 1.5 spacing• Times New Roman or Calibri font• Make it all look good – easier to read, understand, trust• Tables, graphs, diagrams, etc.

– Captions– Center on page– Refer to them in text, otherwise why have them?– Self-explanatory; reader should understand them without

explanation– Every table column and graph axis should be labeled with

Quantity, Symbol, and Units. Exception: titles of graphs• Make no judgments regarding the data until the Discussion section

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Lab Report – Overview

• What is in your lab report (abstract)• What you were looking to find out (introduction)• What you did (procedure)• What you observed (results)• What your results mean (conclusion)• Giving credit where it’s due

(acknowledgements and references)• Additional information for reference (appendices)

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Appendices

ABSTRACT

What you Did

What you’re looking for

Lab Report – Overview

What’s the Significance

What you Observed

Introduction Procedure Results Discussion

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Lab Report – Contents

Title1. Abstract (Hickam) ……………………............. 12. Introduction (Kilby) …………………….......... 13. Procedure (Hickam) …………………............ 24. Results (Kilby) …………………………………….. 45. Discussion/Conclusion (Hickam) …………. 56. Acknowledgments ……………………………… 67. References ………………………………............. 68. Appendices (Kilby) ……………………………… 7

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Lab Report – Introduction

1. Purpose– What’s your hypothesis? – What are you intending to find out?– What questions will be answered?

2. Background/Theory– Why will your experiment answer your questions?– How will the data you collect, analyze, and interpret

tell you something substantive?

Introduction Procedure Results Discussion

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Good Example – Introduction

• “A pendulum is slowed on its upswing and accelerated on its downswing by gravity. In an ideal, frictionless [vacuum] environment, a pendulum would never cease to swing.”

Good Example – Introduction

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Good Example – Introduction

• “A pendulum is slowed on its upswing and accelerated on its downswing by gravity. In an ideal, frictionless [vacuum] environment, a pendulum would never cease to swing.”

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Lab Report – Procedure 1. Equipment and Materials– List all equipment and materials used in lab, including

instrument #’s, model and serial numbers (if known)– Diagram of experimental setup (label variables if possible)– Notes on setting up the equipment

2. Experimental Procedure– Paragraph summary of procedure taken– Include info relevant to your lab (e.g. if you used 0.811 m

instead of 0.80 m, say 0.811 m)– Any additional procedure required to answer lab questions

Introduction Procedure Results Discussion

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Goo

d Ex

ampl

e –

Proc

edur

e

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Lab Report – Results The results section should summarize the data from the

experiments without discussing their implications. Do not duplicate data provided in one format (e.g. table) by including in another format (e.g. graph)

1. Data– Original (raw) data only is displayed in this section– Introduce all tables/graphs prior to displaying them (this does

not mean you need to analyze them prior to displaying them)– If tables are large, provide only a sample in report and refer to

full table in appendix– Graphs are a much better communication than tables

2. Data Analysis3. Uncertainty and Error

Introduction Procedure Results Discussion

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Lab Report – Results 2. Data Analysis– Sample of each calculation performed on data– Graphs of calculations (e.g. log-log plots)

3. Uncertainty and Error– No conclusions can be drawn without uncertainty/error– Informs you of data trustworthiness, repeatability, bias,

external effects– Give calculations and estimation reasons for uncertainty for

all measurements– Error (% error is best) should be calculated when

true/accepted value is known– Must show error from measurements propagated through

calculations and graphs

Introduction Procedure Results Discussion

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Key:Passive vs. Active – Be Consistent1 Sig Fig for Uncertainty Period uncertainty should be the sameExplain how you got uncert.Quantify!

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Lab Report – Discussion/Conclusion

The meat of the lab report:1. Give a brief recap of your question and hypothesis.2. Was your hypothesis correct?3. What happened and why?4. Were there any difficulties with the experiment? Is

there any reason to disbelieve your results?5. How could you improve the experiment?6. Do these results suggest any follow-up experiments?7. Answer all lab questions.

Be Specific and Quantitative – back it up with numbers, or else you probably shouldn’t say it

Introduction Procedure Results Discussion

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Good Example – Disc./Concl.

• See example 2 at the end of this lesson

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Abstract

Lab Report – Abstract • Completed after the four main sections• One-paragraph (100-200 words)• Summarizes:– Purpose– Procedure– Significant results

Introduction Procedure Results Discussion

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Good Example – Abstract

• 65 words, and it just about says it all• Missing specific relationship between period and length,

mass, and amplitude

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Lab Report – Other Stuff• Acknowledgments

– Only required when using someone else’s data– Acknowledged in body of report and here as well

• References– Cite using Council of Science Editors (CSE)– http://www.sourceaid.com/

• Appendices– Table of Contents– Includes relevant data not pertinent to comprehension of lab

report; reader should not be referred to appendix in order to understand the conclusions you draw or the graphs you make

– Each appendix begins with a description of its contents

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Indent these notes

Good Example – Appendix

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Good Lab Report Examples

1. 2nd Example on page: http://homepage.smc.edu/gallogly_ethan/sample_lab_reports.htm

2. Great example, including error/uncertainty under analysis section

http://www.physics.unc.edu/labs/sample_report.php

Engineering Practicum Baltimore Polytechnic Institute M. Scott

Lab Reporting Supplement Handout

• Review H-10 Lab Reporting Supplement