LAB REPORT TIPS Calculations/Analysis Section: 1. Always write the equations you need first.

YOU MUST ALWAYS SHOW YOUR EQUATIONS. 2. Make your number substitutions into your equations. 3. Show all your work and make sure units are on everything! NO NAKED NUMBERS! Ex. To Find the Volume of the Wooden Block: Final Volume (mL) Initial Volume (mL) = Volume of Wooden Block (mL) 20.0 mL 16.0 mL = 4.0 mL (notice units on EVERY number) To Find the Density of the object: Density (g/mL) = Mass/Volume Density = 8.0 g/4.0 mL = 2.0 g/mL What is the difference between the results and the conclusion section? Results: Simply restate your data (post calculations)! DO NOT DRAW ANY CONCLUSIONS HERE. For example: Bounty picked up an average of 5.0 mL/dollar. Kirkland picked up an average of 2.5 mL/dollar. Home Store picked up an average of 1.9 mL/dollar. Its as simple as that! Notice we did not draw any conclusionsalthough the conclusion becomes clearer from this statement. We will use this information to form the conclusion, which is arguably one of the most important parts of a lab write up. Conclusion: Here is a general skeleton outline for a good conclusion that you can use to write conclusions in this class, and beyond! This lab investigated ___(Restate your problem and hypothesis)_____. In order to study the problem we __(explain briefly what you did)___ . My results showed __(explain your results using your analysis and calculations and prove if your hypothesis was right or wrong)_____ , thus proving my hypothesis was ___(correct/incorrect)____. I believe the results are (accurate/inaccurate) because ___(discuss sources of error)__. In order to further investigate this problem, next time I would ___(what would you do differently to improve your results)_____. This technique could be used in real-life __(discuss how you could apply this in real-life)____.

Example Conclusion: This lab investigated which wooden shape, a cylinder, a cube, or a sphere, had the highest density. My hypothesis was that the cylinder shaped object would have the highest density because in all of our samples, it was the heaviest of the three shapes. In order to study the problem we measured the volume of each object by displacement and used an electric balance to determine the mass. Density was found by dividing mass by volume. My results showed or According to my calculations, the cube shape had the highest density, with a density of 3.3 g/mL, while the cylinder and sphere had a density of 1.4 g/mL and 2.1 g/mL respectively. This proves my hypothesis was incorrect. The cylinder did not have the highest density, but the cube shape did. I believe the results are accurate; however there are some possible sources of error. When the wooden block was placed into the graduated cylinder, some water droplets splashed out, which could affect the measured volume of the object, and thus the density value would be affected. Additionally, the mass of the object was inaccurate by .02 g because the balance that was used would not properly tare to zero, however since this error occurred with every object, I do not expect it to impact the results of this experiment. In order to investigate this problem further, next time I would use a different balance and add the object to the water much more carefully and with better technique. I could use this technique in real life if I wanted to determine if an object would float or sink in a body of water. After finding the density through this method, if an objects density is greater than that of water it would sink and if it was less than that of water it would float. TIPS

Do draw a picture of the experiment, if appropriate. Dont say that the purpose was accomplished and then say nothing substantially more. You must include data from the lab results to demonstrate that the purpose was accomplished. PROVE IT!!! Dont give the procedure again. You already wrote it previously in the lab report. Dont list the data again. It was already listed in your data section (chart, table, etc.). You are to discuss and draw conclusions from the data and will include calculations from your analysis section instead. Dont forget to break up your ideas with more than one paragraph, if necessary. (This is referred to as an essay!!!)