How to Write a Lab Report

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How to Write a Lab Report
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A good lab report includes

• Title in the form of a question
• Hypothesis
• Materials list
• Procedure stepsnumbered list, not a paragraph
• Datausually in the form of a table indicate the
  manipulated, responding and variables held
  constant
• Conclusiontells what you learned should answer
  the question and be supported by the hypothesis.

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Example Tomato Growing

• Does Changing the Type of Water Produce More
  Tomatoes?
• (Notice that it is a title and that all major
  words are capitalized. Titles are centered at
  the top. The word title is not necessary!)
• Hypothesis I think that feeding tomatoes
  mineral water will produce more tomatoes.This is
  left justified. Additional lines are indented.

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Example Tomato Growing

• Materials
• Tomato plants (one kind) Pots and soil
• Mineral water Tap water
• Seltzer water Lemon water
• Grow lights
• Use two columns so list takes up less space.

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Example Tomato Growing

• Procedure
• Set up 12 tomato plants. Be sure plants are
  about the same size and health. Soil should be
  the same type and the amount of soil (size of
  container) should be the same. Label 3 pots tap
  water, label 3 mineral water, label 3 seltzer
  water, label 3 lemon water.

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Example Tomato Growing

• Procedure (continued)
• Water the pots marked tap water with ¼ cup of
  water each day. Repeat with other plants but use
  the appropriate type of water.
• Keep the plants under a grow light, using 16
  hours on and 8 hours off.
• The room temperature should be between 70o and
  80o F.
• When tomatoes are produced, count the number for
  each type of water. Continue growing and
  counting until the plants die.

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Example Tomato Growing
Data Table
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Example Tomato Growing

• Conclusion
• Based on this experiment, I found that the type
  of water was not a significant factor in the
  number of tomatoes produced. The tomatoes fed
  mineral water produced slightly more tomatoes but
  the difference between tap water and mineral
  water was not significant.
• Conclusions do not contain data, procedure steps,
  hypothesis, or how you feel about the experiment.