STYLE FOR FORMAL LAB REPORTS

1. General

 Formal lab reports should be typeset. They should be concise and logical. Equations must be properly numbered. Each graph should have a frame and must be properly labeled. The legend should be clearly written within the frame of each graph.

2. Title Page

This is the first page and should contain:

  • Title of Experiment
  • Course Title
  • Your Name
  • Dates of Performance of the Experiment
  • Date of Submission

    3. Body of Report

     Objective: What you had planned to achieve by doing the experiment.

    Apparatus: Concise description and explanation of the apparatus that you experimented with is needed. Clearly labeled diagrams and identification of each component of your experimental setup are needed.

    Theory: Clear and concise development of the theory is needed. Wherever necessary, adequate references should be cited. The observables that you calculate should be clearly indicated and there should be a smooth transition from the Theory to Procedure.

    Procedure: A brief, concise record of the entire procedure is needed.

    Data: All data should be tabulated for clarity. The original sheet where you recorded your data at the time of experimentation should be attached as an Appendix.

    Analysis: In this section, all your calculations, error analysis, and whatever graphs you obtained from the data should be included.

    Results: All your results should be tabulated. Your results should also contain the experimental uncertainties.

    Conclusions: Your conclusions should be included in this section. Write your conclusions as succinctly as possible. A discussion as to agreement and or disagreement with the theory should be included in an appropriate manner. A discussion about errors and their occurrence should also be discussed.

    Appendix: In this section, you should include original data sheets and whatever notes that are necessary. You may also include printouts of Mathematica notebooks or pritouts of any computer codes that you had used in your experiment.

    STYLE FOR INFORMAL LAB REPORTS

    Your professor may require only an informal lab report for a certain experiment.

    YOU SHOULD SUBMIT SUCH A REPORT IF AND ONLY IF YOUR PROFESSOR ASKS YOU TO DO SO; OTHERWISE, YOU MUST ALWAYS HAND IN A FORMAL REPORT.

    1. General

    Informal lab reports should be typeset. They should be concise and logical. Each graph should have a frame and must be properly labeled. The legend should be clearly written within the frame of each graph.

    2. Title Page

    This is the first page and should contain:

  • Title of Experiment
  • Course Title
  • Your Name
  • Dates of Performance of the Experiment
  • Date of Submission

    3. Body of Report

     Data: All data should be tabulated for clarity. The original sheet where you recorded your data at the time of experimentation should also be attached.

    Analysis: In this section, all your analysis, and whatever graphs you obtained from the data should be included.

    Results: All your results should be tabulated.

    Conclusions: Your conclusions should be included in this section. Write your conclusions as succinctly as possible.