Lab+Report+Guidelines

**Guideline for Lab Work** Depending on the circumstances you will be required to write a complete or a partial lab report on the work we do. The following are the headings that you will use when writing a lab report.
 * MS Science**

__Title & Date__ Always give your lab a title and the date it was completed. __Purpose__ What are you trying to find out by doing this lab? __Hypothesis__ This is an educated guess or prediction. It depends on the nature of the lab whether a hypothesis will be required. __Materials__ This is a simple list of only the materials that will be used in the lab.

__Procedure__ This is the “how to” part of the lab. If following a prescribed lab procedure, you may reference the procedure instead of copying all the steps from your textbook. If you are writing your own procedure, it should be complete enough that another student could read your procedure and repeat your experiment exactly. //It is most easily written as a list of number// //commands.//

__Variables__ Be sure that your variables are obvious to the reader - independent, dependent and controlled variables.

__Data & Observations__ All measurements and all things observed during the lab should be recorded in an easily readable fashion. Whenever possible record data in a table and always include units.

= Data processing & presentation = This is the area for any calculations needed in the lab, graphs or diagrams. Remember to clearly label your work – units, titles.

= Conclusions & Evaluation = 1. A valid conclusion (what occurred in your lab and most importantly try to explain why it occurred) 2. Where appropriate compare your results to data collected by other class members 3. The procedure (apparatus, materials & method) including limitations or weaknesses 4. Suggestions to improve the investigation 5. A description of how this investigation relates to the real world