Lab Report Instructions

Turning in your lab:

Lab reports are due two weeks after lab, at the start time of your lab section.
Late lab reports are penalized 2 points for every day they are late.
Getting graded labs back:
TAs will return graded labs to you during lab, one week after the lab was due.

Writing the lab report:

Lab reports consist of the following:
• Work done during the lab, including data sheets, graphs, and answers to the questions in
the lab handout. These should be initialed by a TA or instructor before you leave the lab.
• Written report, to be completed after leaving the lab.

Guidelines for Physics Lab Reports:

A laboratory report has three main functions:
(1) To provide a record of the experiments and raw data of the experiments.
(2) To provide sufficient information to reproduce or extend the data, and
(3) To analyze the data, present conclusions and make recommendations proceeding from the
experimental work.

General Comments:
• The single most important requirement for a laboratory report is clarity. Imagine that
your audience is one of your classmates who missed that experiment.
• Many technical writers prefer to write sentences with passive verbs. A simple example:
“The spring constant k was found from the slope to be 3.02 N/m.” If you run this
sentence through the grammar check, it will tell you that “was found” is a verb in the
passive voice. To change this to an active voice you could write: “The spring constant k
is the slope, 3.02 N/m.” Not every sentence has to be in an active voice. What you want is
a report that is readable.
• Remember to write in the correct tense. You have already completed the experiments that
you are reporting about. So they WERE done . . . they are NOT being done now as you
write the report. They are NOT going to be done as the reader reads further into the
report. For example, the experiment WAS carried out and the results ARE presented in
Fig. X.
• Use appropriate scientific language. Do not write flowery sentences or use vague diction.
• Do not write instructions as if you are writing a laboratory manual.

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 • Do not write in bulleted format (as here!). The writing should be in a narrative style.
• Express discrepancies in terms of errors, not as “small” or “large”. Cut unnecessary
words whenever possible.
Lab Report Structure:
At the top of your report, you must include the title of the experiment, the date of the experiment,
your section ID, the name of your graduate assistant (grader), and the full names of all members
of your group.

I. Introduction: Introduce the experiment and the physical principles which will be
explored. Also, include a “purpose” of the experiment that is NOT simply a
restatement of the manual’s objective. (2-3 sentences)
II. Scientific Sketch (or you can import your photo/cellphone picture of the apparatus):
The goal of this section is to convey information about the lab’s set-up in a clear and
efficient manner. The sketch is a labeled diagram which is not meant to be artistic.
Include a brief caption or paragraph explaining your labeled diagram.
III. Procedure: Do NOT simply copy the lab manual’s procedure section. Briefly, recap
the idea behind each activity. Make it clear that you have thought about the ideas
behind each section. (2-3 sentences)
IV. Data Sheets: For each experiment, the lab manual has one or more data sheets/tables
for recording raw data, as well as, intermediate and final data values. These are not
for doodling, but for recording your data. If there is a mistake, then draw a single line
through that value.
a. The values that you record on your data sheet must have:
i. Units (such as kg for kilograms)
ii. Reasonable uncertainty estimates for given instruments and procedures
iii. Precision consistent with the uncertainty (proper significant digits)
iv. Propagation of error for calculated quantities
V. Graphs: Must be labeled and have captions explaining the graph. A reader should be
able to see the figure and understand what he is seeing. Include units when necessary.
The text should contain a reference to the graphs which are numbered appropriately.
VI. Discussion of Results: This is the most important part of the lab report; it is where
you analyze the data. Regardless of your discipline, the most challenging and
rewarding part of your work will be analyzing the data.
Begin the discussion by briefly summarizing the basic purpose of each experimental
section with emphasis on the measurements you made and transition to discussing the
results. State only the key results (with uncertainty and units) quantitatively with
numerical values; do not provide intermediate quantities. Your discussion should
address questions such as:

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 • What is the relationship between your measurements and your final results?
• What trends were observable?
• What can you conclude from the graphs that you made?
• How did the independent variables affect the dependent variables? (For
example, did an increase in a given measured (independent) variable result in
an increase or decrease in the associated calculated (dependent) variable?)

Then describe how your experimental results substantiate/agree with the theory. (This
is not a single statement that your results agree or disagree with theory.) When
comparison values are available, discuss the agreement using either uncertainty
and/or percent differences. This leads into the discussion of the sources of error.

In your discussion of sources of error, you should discuss all those things that affect
your measurement, but which you can't do anything about given the time and
equipment constraints of this laboratory. Included in this would be a description of
sources of error in your measurement that bias your result (e.g. friction in pulleys that
are assumed frictionless. Your analysis should describe the qualitative effect of each
source of error (e.g. friction slowed motion, causing a smaller value of acceleration to
be measured) and, where possible, provide an estimate of the magnitude of the errors
they could induce. Describe only the prominent sources of error in the experiment.
For example, the precision of the triple balance beam, a fraction of a gram, compared
to the 250.0 g lab cart is not significant. Note that a tabulation of all possible errors
without any discussion of qualitative effect of the error will receive no credit. Your
discussion should address questions such as:

• Are the deviations due to error/uncertainty in the experimental method? Or

are they due to
• idealizations inherent in the theory (or both)? If the deviations are due to
experimental uncertainties, can you think of ways to decrease the amount of
uncertainty?
• If the deviations are due to idealizations in the theory, what factors has the
theory neglected to consider? In either case, consider whether your results
display systematic or random deviations.

VII. Conclusion: This section should not simply restate the objectives and say that you
did (or did not) accomplished them. You can summarize the results of the experiment
and maybe suggesting ways this experiment or future experiments might be improved
or extended.

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Grading: Please see the lab report template with the grading rubric

All labs must be completed and reports turned in to receive a passing lab grade – failure to do so
will constitute a failing grade in the course. There will be one make-up lab week (end semester)
is going to be available to ensure your completion of all labs.

Some Lab Report examples:

http://writing.engr.psu.edu/workbooks/labreport2.html
https://www.physics.purdue.edu/~sergei/classes/phys342l/examplereport.pdf
https://www.sharkpapers.com/blog/lab-report/physics-lab-report-examples.pdf

Note: Parts of this document come from physics lab report guides from Baylor University and
the University of Sydney. The originals can be found here:
www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/110769.pdf
www.physics.usyd.edu.au/pdfs/current/sphys/...lab/report_writing.pdf