Writing a lab report

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Writing a lab report

• Things to keep in mind

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PARTS TO A LAB REPORT

• Purpose
• Hypothesis
• Variables
• Background Information
• Materials
• Procedure
• Results and Observations
• Analysis of Results
• Conclusion
• Recommendation
• Bibliography

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Purpose

• Indicates what you are trying to prove
• Always written in third person
• Example
• The purpose is to determine if plants need light
  to germinate.
• The purpose is to find how the amount of light
  will affect the germination of pineapple seeds.

4
Hypothesis

• Is an objective statement - not an opinion
• Written in third person
• Refers to the possible outcome of the experiment.
• Example
• Pineapple seeds will germinate faster in the
  darkness.

5
Variables

• Any of the factors that can affect the outcome of
  the experiment.
• Changing variables --testing
• Controlled Variables -- need to be kept constant
  so that there is no external effect

6
Background Information

• Information on the topic needed to work
• Previous information that will make the design
  and the analysis easier.
• Research done to have a previous knowledge on the
  topic

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Materials and Procedure

• Procedure
• Step by step indication of what should be done

• Materials
• List of items needed to do the experiment.

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Results and Observations

• Presents what happened during the experiment.
• Includes
• Charts
• Graphs
• Diagrams

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Analysis of Results

• Discussion referring to the results
• Answers questions about the results
• Explains why things happened using background
  information
• Relates results to class topics
• Relates results to daily life
• Refers to other things related to the results

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Conclusion

• Refers to the hypothesis
• Based on the results and the analysis of results.
• Objective statement expressing the outcome

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Recommendation

• Any recommendations for anybody who is planning
  to work on this topic.
• Recommendations for future investigations

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Bibliography

• Based on Colegio Bolivar style book
• All information must be documented
• Organized alphabetically by author