1. Writing Your Lab Report
How to Improve Your Grade…

2. Pendulum Laboratory Report
Grading Rubric:
Format: %
Intro, Objectives, & Procedures: 20%
Analysis of results: %
Error analysis: %
Questions %
6. Sources %
Sample Lab Report:
(Only difference is that you need to include data plots in the body of your report, not just as an appendix.)

3. Pendulum Laboratory Report
Formatting
Typed, 12 pt font, 1.5 spacing
3-5 pages long, not including appendix of data tables
Separate report into sections
Answer #1-3, making sure to cite all sources used
Describe the purpose of experiment
Describe the experiment and method
Describe the results
Include data plots and a description of what they tell you – based off objectives
Describe possible errors that led your results to be different from the theoretical values

4. Pendulum Laboratory Report
Grading Rubric:
Format: %
Title Page
Introduction
Objectives
Materials
Procedure
Data
Analysis
Discussion of Error
Sources
10% of your grade will be based upon whether or not you have included and made an honest attempt at each of the sections listed on this slide.

5. Pendulum Laboratory Report
Grading Rubric:
Title Page: %
A good title is concise, but tells the reader what the report is about.
Here are some other tips on creating a good title:
Be brief, but specific
Do not write the title as a complete sentence.
Do not use catchy titles.
Expectation: 1 page

6. Pendulum Laboratory Report
Grading Rubric:
Introduction: %
The introduction should state the purpose of the lab and put it in context for the reader.
Begin by clearly stating what the lab is about.
Write the objectives of the lab in sentence form.
Include info on the history, past research and uses of pendulums
Expectation: page

7. Pendulum Laboratory Report
Grading Rubric:
Objectives: %
The objectives should list the goals of the lab in a numbered list.
State each objective clearly
List the objectives in order of achievement
Use the equation editor to enter equations
Expectation: page

8. Pendulum Laboratory Report
Grading Rubric:
Materials: %
The materials list should include all essential equipment in a bulleted form.
Include all measuring devices
Include any supporting structures
Insert a picture of the apparatus as a Figure
Expectation: page

9. Pendulum Laboratory Report
Grading Rubric:
Procedures: %
The procedure should include enough detail about the materials and methods you used so that someone else could repeat your experiment.
Use numbered lists
Separate the parts of the procedure (e.g. mass, amplitude, length)
Be as detailed as possible
Expectation: 1-2 pages

10. Pendulum Laboratory Report
Grading Rubric:
Data: %
The data section should include all of the processed data in table and graph format. No raw data, please!
Label tables as Table #; label graphs as Figure #
For graphs, label the title and axes (include units on the axes)
Use bold font and include units in the column headings of tables
Expectation: 1-2 pages

11. Pendulum Laboratory Report
Grading Rubric:
Analysis: %
The analysis should include a discussion of each objective and how the data helped you to achieve it.
Refer to Figure/Table #’s in the Data section
Separate each objective into its own paragraph
Argue your points logically and be as detailed as possible
Expectation: 1-2 pages

12. Pendulum Laboratory Report
Grading Rubric:
Discussion of Error: 20%
The discussion of error should include an accounting of all of the sources of error as well as an estimation of the amount of error in your results.
Be as detailed as possible
Discuss your efforts to minimize error
Expectation: page

13. Pendulum Laboratory Report
Grading Rubric:
Additional Questions: 15%
Using the data you obtained extrapolate the length of string required for the period of oscillation of the pendulum to equal 3.5 seconds. Explain your process and show all work.
Assuming that the constant C equals 2π, find a best-value for the acceleration due to gravity. Explain your process and show all work.
Expectation: 0.5 – 1 page

14. Pendulum Laboratory Report
Grading Rubric:
Sources: %
The sources cited should include all of the references used in your report. Use APA formatting when citing sources. Citationmachine.net can help you with formatting.
Expectation: ~0.25 pages