PHYS 2230 Lab Report Guidelines
Students are expected to write a lab report after finishing the experiment. This is a group exercise. Please
coordinate with your lab partners to finish the report on time. Submit the report on Canvas as PDF file
before due date. The cover of your report should have the following items:
• Name of the experiment
• Name of the co-authors
• Lab section number
• date
The lab report should contain the following sections in the following order(mention a primary author for each
section):
1 Abstract
The abstract should be a brief summary of the entire experiment and ideally, should be written after you
have finished writing the remaining sections for complete understanding. But, while submitting, keep this
section at the very beginning of your report.
It should contain the following:
• Purpose or main goal of each exercise of the experiment
• Final numerical results for each exercise of the experiment
• Numerical accepted, expected, or predicted values for each result (when possible)
• Results with comparisons (% errors and/or % differences) to those accepted, expected, or predicted
values
It should NOT contain the following:
• Calculations
• Equations
• Procedure
• Discussion for sources of error
2 Experiment & Data
2.1 Procedure
Give the gist of the procedure followed in the experiment, outlining all the important steps, without going
into unnecessary details. Avoid redundancy.
2.2 Data Tables
All data collected or provided during the experiment must be presented in tables with a brief description of
how the data was collected preceding the data. Any graphs resulting from the data must follow the table
with proper labels. Any equations used must also be listed and a sample calculation shown. Calculations for
% error and % difference must also be shown. To summarize, this section must contain:
• All raw data
– If the instructions tell you to measure something and there is no place for that measurement in
the data table in the lab manual, add a data table!
– Make sure all measurements are recorded to the correct number of decimal places.
1
• All calculated values
– Include equations with any calculated data.
– Include only the equations you used to calculate data in the data tables.
– Include the equations near the associated data.
∗ beside single calculations like % error
∗ above columns of calculated data
– Equations used multiple times (like % error or % difference) need only be listed once.
– If you need to add a column of calculated data in order to create your graphs, do so!
– Remember that resultspobtained from slopes of graphs are also calculated values and need equa-
tions.[Example: (V0 = (slopegraph1 ))].
• Correct units for all data.
2.3 Graphs
All graphs should be made using Excel and should have the following:
• Appropriate data plotted as an xy scatter graph with no connecting lines in Excel
• The graph should be titles: (y-axis variable) v/s (x-axis variable)
– Use symbols in your graph title. Use the same symbols that you used for labeling columns of data
on your data table.
• Axes must be labeled with the same symbol as was used to label the column of corresponding data on
the data table.
• Axes must be labeled with appropriate units
– If you are worried about forgetting your units if one axis is unitless, you may include “unitless”
on the axis where units would normally be indicated.
• Trendline added to data
– Trendlines are usually linear.
– Display the equation and R2 value for your trendline on the graph.
– Do not ever set the intercept value for your trendline unless it is required. This changes the value
of the slope of your graph.
2.4 Data Analysis
• Use the information obtained from the graph (mainly the slope and intercept values) and calculate the
desired quantities.
• For some exercise the calculations are not trivial. Those calculations should be shown in your report.
3 Conclusion and Error Analysis
This section is the closure of the lab report.
3.1 Conclusion
Do qualitative and quantitative assessment of the results obtained. Based on the results either support or
reject the hypothesis of the experiment. Conclusion should be brief.
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3.2 Error Analysis
You should state all the possible sources of error in this experiment.
• List the measurement uncertainties for every measuring tool you used. Utilize the flowchart in the
Modules section of the course on CANVAS.
• Explain what impact those measurement uncertainties had on your final results. What data was af-
fected? How might this change your final result?
• Were there other possible sources of error? Were all the assumptions made during the formulation still
applicable for the experiment? In Physics, we always make assumptions about the world.
• If any of your error percentages are high, then clearly explain the cause of the high error.
• Was there any trouble with the equipment? Was it working properly or did it seem to be damaged in
some way through age or misuse?
• List any measures you took to limit or decrease error in the experiment.
