Grade 7 Lab Guideline

Lab Report Guideline

Problem or Purpose

What is the experiment designed to find out or demonstrate?

An example of a problem would be; “Which will hold more drops of water, an older penny or a newer penny?”

An example of a purpose would be; “To determine which holds more water, a newer penny or an older penny?”

Hypothesis

Write an educated guess in the “if, then, because” format. Be sure to include the manipulated variable and the responding variable. An example of this would be:

If a newer penny is tested then it will hold more water because the newer penny will have higher edges to act as barriers.

Safety

Provide any safety information that should be followed or safety gear that should be used when performing the experiment; e.g., safety goggles.

Materials and Equipment

Using a table, provide a list of all materials and equipment.

Variables

Identify the manipulated, responding and controlled variables. A table is a good way of organizing this information.

Procedure

Make a numbered list of the steps you will need to follow as you perform the experiment. Your goal is to write enough information so you will know what to do, or that someone who has never done this lab would be able to follow your instructions step by step. Point form is acceptable.

 Data and Observations

1. Write a paragraph describing what you observed.
2. Create a table or chart for any data.  
3. Draw at least one picture that shows what you observed. Drawings should always be in pencil and labeled.
4. Create a graph with your data if possible.

Discussions/Analysis Questions

You will receive questions to answer in this section. Answer in full sentences using appropriate scientific vocabulary. Be sure to be detailed in your responses.

Conclusions

In this section you will demonstrate your understanding of the lab.

What to put in your conclusion section:

1. Look back at your purpose/problem. Was the purpose satisfied or the problem solved?
2. Was your hypothesis correct or incorrect, and what did you learn from the outcome?
3. What specifically did you learn and how can that be applied to your life today or to your understanding of the world.

Sources of Error

Explain any possible errors that may have changed your results; e.g., one of your controlled variables wasn’t consistently controlled.

Please note:

a)      You may have the same information as your group members up to and including the observations section. Beyond the observations section, everything is independent.

b)      Write using only one font and keep the font size to 12 point.

c)       Subtitles should be underlined or bolded.

d)      Any research you do should be cited in a works cited list. Be sure not to plagiarize someone else’s ideas.