The Physics Lab Report

Whether you are writing a laboratory report for a course, a graduate thesis, or a paper
for publication in a Journal the format is similar to the one described below.

Formatting of the necessary Lab Report Sections:

Figures:
Any figures in the report must include a caption with a numbered label (i.e.,
Figure 1)

Tables & Graphs:

Tables & Graphs must include
• A caption with a numbered label (i.e., Table 1, Figure 1)
• A title
• Necessary Units in the headings
• For Graphs the axis must have a relevant title with appropriate units

Graphs:
Graphs must include
• Error bars on both the x and y coordinates unless you can clearly justify
why they are not needed.
• If the graph seems to be linear you can use EXCEL or some other
program to do a best fit line.
• Uncertainties on the Linear Fit (see appropriate directions)

Equations:
Equations must be
• Formatted with an equation editor (in Word, Google doc, or LaTeX)
• Labelled with an appropriate identifying number. These numbers must be
used within the report when referring to the equation.
 Lab Report Section Descriptions

Title Page:
Every report must have a title page which includes
• The title of the report indicating exactly what you have studied. Ex: “An
investigation of Gauss’s Law for Electric Fields”
• The Author or Authors names
• The Name of the University and the Name of the Department
• The Date of the Experiment

Introduction:
The introduction should
• Provide relevant background information which can place the experiment in
its appropriate historical context
o Should inform the reader when the experiment was first performed,
or when the relevant physics model being studied was first proposed
and / or verified.
• Provide the necessary background theory which the reader would need in
order to understand the experiment.
• Diagrams and figures, which may aid in the clarity of the theory behind the
experiment.
• Include any modern-day updates to the current understanding of the
phenomenon being studied, Include references.
• State the Experimental Question and the Hypothesis (expected outcome).

You can use the lab manual as well as your lecture notes as the source for your
background information. When completing your final draft of the report make sure
that the background information and the conclusion follow naturally.
Experimental Setup:
This section of the report indicates to what extent you are familiar with the various
components of the experimental set-up. Most of the laboratory components in this course
use a pre-assembled (Black Box) apparatus from a scientific supply company. It is
imperative that in your report you explain the inner workings of the “black box” and that
you describe the tools, equipment and procedure such that a reader could easily duplicate
the experiment.

You should include:

• Photograph’s, figures, and diagrams of the experimental setup.
• A description of each of the pertinent components of the setup. How they
operate and how it obtains relevant measurements (i.e., does the probe
measure a voltage or temperature etc.).
You do not need to include details regarding the assembly of the apparatus, unless these
details are pertinent to the collection of data. You need to focus on how the apparatus
operates and the basic structure of how the components are positions relative to each
other.

Procedure:
Describe the procedure in sufficient detail such that anyone who wished to repeat the
experiments could.
• State what you did and how measurements were gleaned. Provide
justification for your choice of procedural steps.
• It is also necessary that the procedural choices be appropriate for the
experiment.
• What you did and how you acquired measurements (point form is ok).
• Photos which illustrate pertinent procedural steps / measurements (do NOT
place data here).
Data:
This is where you put the raw collected data in an easy to read format. Results
can be displayed in tables but must include all of the data collected, including any that
went “wrong” or was unexpected. Do NOT place any calculations here.

Your data section should include:

• Photo’s of your data is needed (i.e., Photo or screen capture of an
oscilloscope screen)
• Graph’s of data if appropriate (i.e., Raw data graphs collected with the
PASCO sensors and displayed via the Capstone Software) DO NOT
include calculated values, these are placed in your analysis section.
• Uncertainty estimates of measured quantities with justification.
Analysis:
Explain all analysis steps following a logical order. Each equation and step should
only rely on information that was determined somewhere before it. For experiments
where the same calculation is repeated multiple times only illustrate one sample
calculation in your report.

When performing analysis on your data, provide the equation that you use, the value of
any constants, and place the results of this calculation in a table. Be perfectly clear about
where the entries in your table come from, (i.e., “The velocity values illustrated in column
3 of Table 2 were obtained by using equation 2, and the measured drop times from a
constant height of 0.52 m recorded in the first column). It is important that the reader be
directed to specific tables and figures to clarify this section. Include results which went
“wrong” or were unexpected. This may be useful information for another researcher
attempting to duplicate the experiment.

Include:
• All calculations with a sentence to introduce and explain the calculation and
define pertinent variable names.
• Analysis of qualitative data.
• Uncertainty propagation; all types of uncertainties must be evaluated to the
best of your ability.
• A table containing calculated values with their associated uncertainties.
Discussion:
Your analysis section demonstrated how you obtained a result, but what does this
result mean? This section of your lab report is where you explain what you believe your
results mean and how the result relates to your initial hypothesis or the theory presented
in the lecture. This is the area where you can make qualitative observations and comment
about whether the result you obtained was expected.
• Compare your results to trends described in the lab manual and / or to
theory discussed in the lecture
• Discuss how your results are related to the purpose of the experiment.
• Describe possible patterns or relationships which emerge. i.e., was there
an overall shift in all of the data points on your plot compared to what was
expected. Were there any patterns in your data that did meet your
expectations
• List and discuss sources of uncertainty. Describe fully what evidence you
have for the uncertainty to have affected your results. Include the type of
uncertainty, i.e. random, or systematic as well as the source i.e.,
instrumental, environmental, observational, etc.
• Your interpretations must be supported with references to:
o Course material
o Lab manual
o Discussions with lab instructor
Conclusion:
Your conclusion is a short statement which summarizes your findings. The
conclusion should follow naturally from your experimental question and your hypothesis.
You do not need to include sources of uncertainty in your conclusion as this has already
been covered, however, numerical results listed in the conclusion must have their
associated numerical uncertainties also listed.

What to Include in the conclusion statement:

• What quantity was determined as a final result:
o be specific regarding what quantity was determined through
experimentation and calculation in the lab. For example, “The speed
was determined to be” would be an incomplete statement, while
“The average speed of a puck travelling on a level air table”
would be a complete statement.
• The numerical or observational result with the uncertainty: Include the
units as well as the correct number of digits so that:
o The uncertainty has 1 significant digit.
o The last digit of the result matches the precision of the absolute
uncertainty.
o In some labs you will not assess the uncertainty to the point of
determining a final quantitative value. In this case, you do not need
to include the uncertainty in your result. Use a reasonable number
of significant digits in this case. In other cases, your entire result may
be qualitative only – no numbers were calculated. Your result is then
a simple statement regarding what you observed. For example, “The
charged objects moved away from each other, indicating that the
objects were repelled by each other”.

• Whether the result was consistent or inconsistent with expectation:

o Often times you may have no prior expectation, in this case the
category is not applicable.
o Other times, you may have a qualitative prediction. For example, you
may expect the speed of an object to be uniform, but you don’t have
a specific expectation of the magnitude. In this case, you can still
comment on this: “The average speed appeared / did not appear to
be uniform within the stated uncertainty and is consistent /
inconsistent with expectation.

• A dominant source of uncertainty – label the type and the source:

o For Example, Was it a random uncertainty or systematic uncertainty?
Was the source instrumental, theoretical, observational, etc. Often
times, the dominant uncertainty will be the one taken into account in
the uncertainty calculation, but sometimes there will be another un-
accounted for source of uncertainty which you should mention. As
long as the one you list would have a major effect, is the correct one
to mention.

• How to reduce the uncertainty:

o Choose a method that is simple enough that it is reasonably
achievable in the lab with the equipment at your disposal. For
example, suggesting “repeat the experiment in a vacuum” is not
readily achievable with the equipment ay your disposal. If you believe
that friction is the dominant source of uncertainty, be specific as to
how this could either be controlled or reduced.
The following is an example of a complete quantitative conclusion statement:

𝒌𝒈
In this lab, the density of a steel cube was experimentally determined to be 7840 ± 80 𝒎𝟑
,
𝒌𝒈
This result is consistent with the theoretical value of 7900 𝒎𝟑 .

One additional systematic theoretical uncertainty is due to the assumption that the
cube was of uniform shape.
One simple way to reduce this uncertainty would be to submerge the cube in a
graduated cylinder partially filled with water and measure the volume of the cube
using the volume of displaced water.

Conclusion Rubric:
Each conclusion is graded out of a possible 6 marks. Conclusions that include the correct
information for each required category will receive no deductions and will earn full marks.
Deductions for errors are listed below for each category.
Very minor Minor Major No missing
Omission Omission Omission information
Quantity
determined -0.20 -0.30 -0.5 1.0
Result with
uncertainty -0.20 -0.30 -0.5 1.0
Result
consistent -0.20 -0.30 -0.5 1.0
with
expectation
Dominant
source of -0.20 -0.30 -0.5 1.0
uncertainty
Simple method
of reducing the -0.20 -0.30 -0.5 1.0
uncertainty
Grammar and
readability -0.20 -0.30 -1.0 1.0