Lab Notebook for Heather Zorn’s General Physics Courses

Physics Lab Write-up Guidelines 2004-2005

A scientist keeps notes in a lab notebook to have an accurate and complete record of his or her scientific work. A lab notebook should be detailed enough so that another scientist (or even you, six months down the road) could reproduce the work. Also, it should be detailed enough so that you or another scientist that has taken over your research doesn’t have to reproduce the work six months down the road and can instead build upon the work. The lab notebook is meant to be used throughout the scientific process; a scientist records their thoughts and observations in their notebook as questions form, as ideas on how to answer the questions develop, as data are collected, as data are analyzed, as conclusions are drawn, and as new questions form. A lab notebook is a complete record of the scientific process.

We will not ask you to keep a lab notebook throughout the year; however, we strongly suggest that you use your laptop as an electronic notebook. Record your thoughts, observations and questions on the computer as you go. To avoid typos, you should still record data by hand and then transfer it into your electronic notebook. While we will not require that you use your laptop during class to record the process, the final write-up must be a computer generated document.

Throughout the year we will do both abbreviated lab write-ups and complete lab write-ups. Below are all the components in a complete lab write-up. Sections 1-4 and the data table can be completed as you do the lab. Sections 5-8 will be written up after collecting data. You may work with other students in your lab group for sections 1-5. We expect you to finish the rest of the lab individually. If you need help, come find us!

Title, Date, and Lab Partners: Title should be specific, brief, and accurately indicate the nature of the investigation.

Research Question and Hypothesis

Why are you doing this lab? Write down the question you are trying to answer. Now think about the question and come up with a plausible answer or hypothesis, whichever is appropriate. What prior knowledge do you have that led you to this plausible answer or hypothesis? Although your “guess” does not have to be correct, it does have to be reasonable, thoughtful, and directly related to the research question.

Materials and Equipment: What did you need to conduct your investigation? A list here is sufficient.

Procedure

This section is a set of step-by-step directions, from set-up to clean-up, of how the experiment is conducted. Special attention should be given to how measurements are taken. It is important to be clear and specific when describing the steps you took to complete the investigation (remember, you would want someone else to be able to reproduce this). You should include diagrams of your setup (hand drawn is fine).

Data Table, Calculations and Graphs

As already stated, you will initially record your data on a piece of paper. You will then transfer the data into your computer. It will often be useful to organize your data and calculations in the form of tables and graphs. All tables and graphs should be made on the computer unless otherwise stated. Tables and graphs should be large, readable, and accurate and should include proper titles, labels, units, and significant figures. Sometimes you will have to make calculations using your data. You must provide one example of each type of calculation made.

Error Analysis

What were the possible sources of error? Describe ways you might improve the investigation or the accuracy of the data collection. How could you have improved your procedure? Simply saying that you were careless is not sufficient!

Conclusions

Look for meaning in the data by looking for trends, patterns, functions, as well as “outlier” data points. What strikes you about the data?? State your results, referring directly to your data tables and/or graphs.

How does your data relate to your initial question? Do your results support or contradict your hypothesis? WHY??? What might need to be changed in your initial hypothesis? Are there any alternative explanations that could fit your data? You should refer back to physics concepts discussed in class.

Additional questions related to the particular lab

For each lab investigation, we will ask you a number of questions that require you to reflect on the investigation and apply your knowledge to other situations.

GRADING: Complete Lab Write-up

All complete labs will be graded out of 24 points. You will be given four points for in-class participation (if you are focused and on task, this will be automatic). Sections 1 and 3 are worth one point each. All other sections are worth three points.

Section – Points	0	1	2	3
1. Title, Date, and Partners	Missing	Included	Not applicable	Not Applicable
2. Research Question and Hypothesis	Missing	Hypothesis or “guess” did not answer question. No explanation as to why you proposed this hypothesis or “guess”	Plausible hypothesis or “guess” that answers question, but unclear explanation as to why you proposed this hypothesis or “guess”	Plausible hypothesis or “guess” and clear explanation as to why you proposed this hypothesis or “guess”
3. Materials and Equipment	Missing	Included	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
4. Procedure	Missing	Missing/incomplete diagram and unclear explanation.	Missing/incomplete diagram or unclear explanation	Complete, neat diagram and clear explanation
5. Data table, calculations, graphs	Missing	Lacking original data, no sample calculations, no graphs (if appropriate)	Missing/inaccurate original data, sample calculations or graphs (if appropriate)	Data tables clearly show original data and calculated data with sample calculations and graphs (if appropriate) that are properly labeled
6. Error Analysis	Missing	Little discussion of errors and no discussion of what could be done differently	Incomplete discussion of error or what could be done differently	Thoughtful discussion of relevant sources of error and what could be done differently
7. Conclusion	Missing	Conclusion incomplete. Little or no discussion of hypothesis or “guess”, actual data, or physics concepts discussed in class	Conclusion partially complete. Missing a clear discussion of one of the following: hypothesis or “guess”, actual data, or physics concepts discussed in class	Complete, easy to follow discussion of the results. Refers back to hypothesis or “guess”, uses actual data in argument, and refers back to physics concepts discussed in class
8. Additional Questions	Missing	Answers to questions are incorrect and do not demonstrate a thoughtful attempt to use the physical concepts learned in class and lab.	Answers are thoughtful and make an attempt to use the concepts, but are incorrect. OR Correct answers, but incorrectly used the physical concepts learned in class and lab.	Demonstrates a good ability to use the concepts developed in class and in lab to correctly answer the questions

GRADING: Abbreviated Lab Write-up

All abbreviated lab write-ups will include Sections 1-3, 5, and 8 (note: Sections in grey will always be included on an abbreviated lab write-up). In addition, you may be asked to do one other section. You will get 4 points for in-class participation and three points for Sections 1-3. Sections 5, 8, and any additional sections will be graded out of three points.

Section – Points	0	1	2	3
1-3. Title, Research Question/Hypothesis, Materials and Equip	Missing	Title and material list not included. OR Title and material list included but no research question or hypothesis	Title and material list included. Effort made to include a plausible hypothesis or “guess”	Title and material list included. Plausible hypothesis or “guess” and clear explanation as to why you proposed this hypothesis or “guess”
4. Procedure	Missing	Missing/incomplete diagram and unclear explanation.	Missing/incomplete diagram or unclear explanation	Complete, neat diagram and clear explanation
5. Data table, calculations, graphs	Missing	Lacking original data, no sample calculations, no graphs (if appropriate)	Missing/inaccurate original data, sample calculations or graphs (if appropriate)	Data tables clearly show original data and calculated data with sample calculations and graphs (if appropriate) that are properly labeled
6. Error Analysis	Missing	Little discussion of errors and no discussion of what could be done differently	Incomplete discussion of error or what could be done differently	Thoughtful discussion of relevant sources of error and what could be done differently
7. Conclusion	Missing	Conclusion incomplete. Little or no discussion of hypothesis or “guess”, actual data, or physics concepts discussed in class	Conclusion partially complete. Missing a clear discussion of one of the following: hypothesis or “guess”, actual data, or physics concepts discussed in class	Complete, easy to follow discussion of the results. Refers back to hypothesis or “guess”, uses actual data in argument, and refers back to physics concepts discussed in class
8. Additional Questions	Missing	Answers to questions are incorrect and do not demonstrate a thoughtful attempt to use the physical concepts learned in class and lab.	Answers are thoughtful and make an attempt to use the concepts, but are incorrect. OR Correct answers, but incorrectly used the physical concepts learned in class and lab.	Demonstrates a good ability to use the concepts developed in class and in lab to correctly answer the questions

Additional Guidelines/Suggestions

Use complete sentences except where noted. Be concise and accurate. We encourage everyone to bring a rough draft to us so that we can go over it together.