Germantown Academy Create a Lab

A well-rounded laboratory program is an integral part of a science curriculum. The laboratory experience provides direct observation of scientific phenomenon and offers hands on manipulation of the concepts covered in the lecture portion of the course. Create-A-Lab provides you with a step by step model for creating a laboratory report with proper format and samples. Following the process below will save you time and reinforce the proper methods for documenting observations.

Open your server account and the word processing application MS Word.
You will prepare a laboratory report which follows a traditional format. Your report will involve the formulation of a hypothesis, observation, data gathering and processing, and interpretation to form conclusions. The descriptions furnished below will help formulate your document.

Title: The title should be a concise statement of the main topic of the report. It should refer to the main variables under investigation. Since the purpose of the title is to inform the reader, it should be explanatory when standing alone. Avoid words that serve no purpose and only increase the length. Do not use abbreviations in the title and all words should be spelled out for clarity.

Purpose: The purpose should be brief and begin with the word "to". This section will explain how your experiment clarifies the problem.

Hypothesis: A hypothesis is an educated guess based on background information given during lecture or in assigned reading. In this section you will identify the independent and dependent variables. If you are going to make predictions about the outcome of the experiment, say so.

Materials: A description of the apparatus used is given here. You may make a numbered list. Be sure to include specifics such as size and number of items, etc.

Procedure: This section must be very detailed and clear. It tells the reader that someone else can repeat the experiment just by reading your procedure section. The procedure section describes what the experimenter did and how it was done. It is a detailed description of the events that the experimenter went through from the beginning until the end of the experiment. The procedure is to be presented in a numbered list.

Data and Results: This is the section where you present your data and analyses. The experimenter gives a description and not an explanation of the findings of the experiment. This section should contain tables, pictures, graphs, etc. Additionally, the experimenter should report the results in narrative form.

Conclusion: In this section you state the conclusions on the basis of the analyses. The hypothesis is either accepted or rejected, on the basis of the data collected, in this section. You should report on the shortcomings of the experiment (what might have gone wrong?). You may examine, interpret and qualify your results in this section. In some cases you may want to compare your findings to those of others in the class. You may point out similarities or differences between your results and the findings of other classmates.

In addition to creating a laboratory report which follows traditional format you have acquired the following technology skills as described in the back of your plan book: File Management and Application Management, Use of the Germantown Academy Server, and Use of Word Processiong . When you conclude this activity please take a few monents to assess your skills using the self-assessment evaluation document at the back of your plan book.

This activity created and implemented by Sue Negro for students of Germantown Academy Middle School. Web page design and technical assistance furnished by Carol Siwinski, Curricular Technology Specialist.

November, 2000