Lab Report Format Suggestions
Physics 132, Spring 2003
Prof. Yochum

Title Page
Include your name, the names of your group members, and the date the experiment was performed.  Include your abstract/purpose on the title page.

Purpose/Abstract
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE LABORATORY EXPERIMENT??? What are you trying to measure? Do not put procedure in the purpose.  This need not be lengthy, a few sentences is often enough.   As a scientist it is your job to convey exactly what you did and measured.  The main difference between a purpose and an abstract is that an abstract would include information pertaining to your results.

Procedure
State what equipment you used.  A sketch is usually useful here.  Very briefly outline your procedure.  What quantities did you measure?  How many times did you measure them and why?

Data
Include nice looking tables of the data you took. Make sure this is well organized! Columns should be labeled and units given. I want ALL the data you took, though it does not necessarily need to be in the lab report body, it can be placed in a appendix.   If your data is in your notebook, simply photocopying the notebook is fine. In general we will not have large data sets so putting all data in the report will be ok.   Remember, use only the data you and your group collected in class!  Using other groups data is cheating.

Data Analysis and Results
Show your data and error analysis. This includes showing the equations you used and showing your calculations. If a calculation is repetitive, only one sample calculation may be appropriate. Tables of the important calculated quantities should be here as well. What was the result of the experiment?  Graphs (well labeled) may be appropriate here.   Always refer to figures/tables in text.  For example, The schematic of the experimental setup is contained in Figure 1.  If you don't remember how to do error analysis, consult the handouts I gave you.

Discussion
Compare your results to a theoretical value if appropriate. Does the result confirm a law of physics? List sources of error. Human error is not an option here. If you list human error here your will get no credit for this section of the lab report.

Conclusion
The purpose of the experiment should be restated concisely.  Was the purpose of the experiment met?  If not why? Possibly suggest improvements or enhancements of the experiment.  If making a measurement of a particular quantity, requote your result with appropriate error.

A couple more things:
1)    Number equations and reference them by number where appropriate in the text.
2)    Label figures (graphs), tables with numbers and a title, e.g. Figure 1.  Experimental Setup.
3)    Include figures and tables in your text.  Cut and paste excel plots directly into your document.

Remember, be concise!  A long report is not necessarily a good one!
PROOFREAD YOUR REPORT. This is meant to be a well-written, concise document. You should consider it no different
than a paper you have written for a humanities class.