How to Write a Lab Report Update - Tilt Lab version

Here’s what goes in the Tilt lab lab report.

Title;   
A very brief description of what the lab is about.

Testable Question: 
A question that can be investigated with an experiment. This was done for you on the lab form.

Hypothesis:
A prediction of how the test you are doing will turn out. It is an answer to the question you are testing. Complete sentence. No personnel pronouns. It is not a question. Do not say why or use the word 'because.'

Independent Variable:
The one thing you change in the experiment to see what kind of difference it makes.

Dependent Variable:
The thing that is affected by the changes in the independent variable. It’s what you measure.

Controlled Variables:
The factors you keep the same because they might affect the outcome of the experiment.

Procedure:
Include materials here: A list of everything you used to do the experiment. Do not include everyday items like pencil and paper. Bullet points.
Describe how to do the experiment so someone else could read it and do the exact same thing. Bullet points. It should have at least 6 or as many as 15 steps.

Results:
For this lab its the table and graph. Every table and graph needs a title, each number needs a label, each axis on the graph needs a label, and include a legend for each line on the graph.

Conclusion:
This is where you decide if the independent variable made a difference in the experimental group. Look at the lines on the graph. If the slopes are different, the independent variable made a difference. Use the results to support your conclusion about the independent variable.
 State if the hypothesis was right or wrong.
 If necessary, mention how other factors may have influenced your results. Complete sentences.

Grading comments:

• 30 of the 50 points will be over how well you followed the instructions above.
• Writing conventions (spelling, punctuation, grammar) will be worth 10 points.
• 'Voice,' or how much it looks and sounds like a scientist will be worth 10 points.

Life Science CRT

The Life Science CRT will be on Friday, February 22. We will review in class on Wednesday and Thursday. Students should study all Life Science notes (Cells, Genetics, Interactions of Living Things, and Evolution) and old unit tests. There are vocabulary reviews on Quizlet. Use the links to the right to find them.

The Osmosis Lab Report is due Monday, December 17. It is a 50 point project and may be word processed or had written. The Osmosis Lab Report template in the 7C Science folder on the Shared file has the section headings and table to use. The information you need to write the report is in the lab notes you recorded daily.

Here's what goes in the report:

Title (1 point)
- The title describes what the lab tested.

Introduction/Notes (3 points)
- Use complete sentences to define osmosis and diffusion. Explain how cells get the water they need to live.

Testable Question: (3points)
- One sentence that asks the question we will try to answer in the lab. (It should be part of your Day 2 lab notes)
Hypothesis (2 points)
- No personal pronouns
-Do not try to explain why

Independent Variable (2 points)
- This is what we did to the cell to see what happens

Dependent Variable (2 points)
-What happened to the cell because of the independent variable

Variables to Control (2 points)
- We noted 2 things that we needed to control because they might effect the dependent variable

Procedure (10 points)
- Include the materials list here
- Organize this section by Day. For example, list the materials used and what was done for Day 1 then Day 2 etc.
- Bullet points are OK

Data Table (5 points)
- Put a title on the table
- Label all numbers with the correct unit of measurement

Observations (5 points)
- Describe how the egg appeared
- Organize this section by the Day. (Day 1, Day 2, etc)

Conclusion (5 points)
- Use what you know about osmosis and diffusion to explain why the egg shrunk on Day 3 and grew on Day 4.
- State if your hypothesis was right or wrong

Effort (10 points)
- Is it neat and easy to read?
- Did you explain what happened and why we did the lab?
- Are the sections organized in a way that is easy to understand? For example, the results and observations sections go between the procedure and conclusion; not at the very beginning or end.
- Could someone read the report and do the same thing you did?
- Spelling, grammar, and punctuation count!

Daily Notes (3 points)
- Attach the daily lab notes to the back of the report

Life Science CRT Vocabulary

Click here to review the Life Science vocabulary for the CRT

Force and Motion Vocabulary

Click here to review Force and Motion vocabulary