Formal lab guidelines

FIRST - THIS IS NOT YOUR HOMEWORK FOR NEXT CLASS. A draft lab will be due in TWO classes (E) or THREE classes (C).

The homework for next class is the previous blog posting (for E), and the homework posting before that (for C).

Lab format.

Typically, each lab should have the following items:

Title
Your name
Lab partner name(s)
Date performed

Purpose of experiment - a line or two telling me the purpose of your work

Hypothesis (where desired, as it is for this wave lab) - what do you anticipate will be true?

Introductory remarks - "In this experiment, we blah blah blah...." These can be short - it's the place where you say anything special about your approach to the problem.

Data tables - don't forget units

SAMPLE calculation, including relevant formulas used

Graphs, where relevant - there may be no relevant graphs for the wave lab. That part is up to you. Don't forget the units and axis labels.

Conclusion - To me, this is the meat of the lab report. Here are questions to consider:

Discuss the extent to which your hypothesis was validated (or rejected).
Discuss sources of error - be specific. Saying "human error" is somewhat meaningless.
Give suggestions for improvement.
Tell me something you learned and/or liked about the experiment.

The conclusion may be a few paragraphs or a couple of pages (or more, if you write a lot). Be specific, write well, use good grammar and spelling, etc.

In every case, you will be encouraged (but not required) to submit a draft lab. I will get it back to you the same day (in your mailbox) with some comments. The formal lab is typically due the class after that.

Points are deducted for late labs, unless there are extenuating circumstances.