the scientific method and how to write up lab reports

8/16/2019 The Scientific Method and How to Write Up Lab Reports

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The Scientic Method &How To Write Up Lab Reports

A Complete Guide For Pre-medical Students


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The Scientic MethodThe scientic method is a process, or series of stepstaken, to produce reliable results in order to answer aspecic question or solve a particular problem.

Scientist follow this method in order to gain knowledgeand understanding about the world around us.

The Two Key Components are:

• Observation

• Experimentation


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The Scientic MethodThere is no one person that should be credited withinventing the scientic method.

It was formed over time by many great thinkersthroughout history in their pursuit of developing theirown laws of logical analysis.

Therefore the scientic method that we have today,was made by the collective efforts and contributions ofvarious scientists, and has seen many improvementsthroughout the years and is still improving.


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The Scientic MethodI would still like to mention a few key gures in history that made signicantcontribution to the overall scientic method.

• Aristotle (Greek Philosopher, 384-322 BCE)

• Archimedes

• Ibn al-Haytham, Al-Biruni and Ibn Sina

• Galileo

• Roger and Francis Bacon

• Descartes

• Sir Isaac Newton


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Steps of The Scientic MethodAsk A Question orIdentify A Problem

Construct A Hypothesis

Test With Experiments

Analyse TheResults/Data

Formulate A Conclusion

If Hypothesis is unsupported

by your results

Share


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How To Write Up A Lab

Report As A StudentThe purpose of doing labs in school is usually to help

you better understand a concept, and the presentationof your ndings is done through a lab report that outlineshow the experiment worked and what the results were.

In the next sections we will be going through the variousguidelines to follow for writing such a repot.


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0 - General Rules• All lab reports should be typed in black ink in the font Times New

Roman with a spacing of 1.5 or 2 and 12 point font .

• All lab reports should be submitted on letter size paper ( 8.5 x 11 ).

• All drawings, diagrams and graphs should be labeled andunderlined.

• Each student will write up their own lab report and turn it inindividually.

• Lab reports should be done neatly and should be easy to readwith few grammatical errors and proper sentence structure.


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0 - General RulesGeneral lab reports should consist of the following sections:

1. Cover Page

2. Aim / Purpose / Problem Statement3. Theory or Hypothesis (Planning and Design)4. Apparatus and Materials5. Method / Procedure6. Results and Observations7. Discussion and Analysis / Questions8. Conclusion

9. References


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1 - Cover PageLab reports can be submitted with a cover page that helps to identify theowner of the lab as well as the lab number and title.

• Use a blank

• Write the department and lab number on the top centre of the page.

• Include the title of the lab on the top centre of the page in capital lettersand underline it.

• Put your name, supervisors name and submission date on the bottomleft corner of the cover page.

NB. Pictures or diagrams should generally NOT be on the cover page but issometimes allowed.


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2 - AimThis is supposed to identify the purpose of the lab or whatyou are trying to determine from the lab.

It is usually stated in one concise sentence.

At this level it may be given to you by your instructor orfrom a textbook.


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3 - Theory or HypothesisIn this section you will either be required to state theunderlying theory behind your lab or you may be asked toformulate a hypothesis if it is a planning and design lab.

Hypothesis: A tentative explanation tested throughexperimentation. (i.e an educated guess to reason or therelationship between the variables)

Theory: An explanation of the general principle of certainphenomena with considerable evidence or facts to supportit.


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4 - Apparatus and MaterialsA comprehensive list of all of the equipment, materials andchemicals need to conduct the experiment.

At this stage they will be given to you in the lab manual,but remember to make the necessary alterations during thelab. (i.e only state the equipment that you actually used)

In some cases it may be better to draw a labeled graph orthe set up of the experiment to accompany your list.


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5 - MethodThis is where you write down the detailed steps or instructionsthat you need to do in order to perform the lab. It can be donein point form or in paragraph form.

The method should always be written in reported speech andthe only exception will be for planning and design labs whereit will be in present tense.

The method should only report what you the individual studentactually did during the experiment, therefore if any deviationsor changes were made you modify the method to suit.


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6 - Results and ObservationsThis is where you record the data or information gathered whiledoing the experiment or present your qualitative anddescriptive observations.

You should make this section as neat as possible and arrangeyour data in a table with the correct title and sections heading,completed with units.

Your data should be visually represented in the form of a graphor chart where applicable.

You should include sample calculations where applicable.


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Graph WorkRemember:

• Use appropriate scale

• Title graph and labeled your axis

• Input data points correctly

• Draw line of best t

• Find the gradient

• Interpolation and Extrapolation

m = 2 y ! 1 y

2 x !

1 x


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7 - DiscussionThis is the section where you make the necessaryconnections and correlations with the data obtained.

In this section your instructor may give you specicquestions to answer.

In this sections you may also write about any errors or

complications that occurred during your lab. Remember“All Labs Have Errors .”


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8 - ConclusionThe conclusion is to be written as a small conciseparagraph that will answer the Aim of the experiment andstate if your hypothesis was supported or unsupported.

In the confusion you also summarise your ndings.


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9 - ReferencesAll academic work that assisted in formulating theconclusion to your lab should be properly referenced andall pictures should be labeled and captioned.

the scientific method and how to write up lab reports

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