Laboratory+write+up

A practical write should contain these things. You might not need all of them for every write up but one of your main jobs is to decide what items you should include based on the experiment you did. toc =Title=

You work should have a title. This should be at the top of the page and should be __underlined__.

=Date=

You work should have a date when the lab work took place. This also needs to be at the top of the page and __underlined__.

=Introduction / Aim / Hypothesis=

Your report will have one of these. It might introduce the experiment, or outline why you are doing it (an aim), or it might outline a hypothesis or theory that you are going to test.

Introduction / Aim
//This is an experiment to find out at what temperature water boils//

Hypothesis
//This experiment will test the theory that when you increase the temperature of a solvent, you increase the solubility of the solvent.//

Make sure you understand the difference between an aim and a hypothesis.

=Background knowledge=

In this section you should write down the scientific knowledge that you have which applies to this experiment. It will allow you to explain what you thin will happen in your experiment and why.

=Prediction=

This is where you make a statement as to what you think will happen in your experiment.

//If I increase the current the light will get brighter//

=Variables=

This is where you outline what variables you have in your experiment These might be variables you will change, or variables you will measure, or variables you will keep the same.

=Method=

This should be a list of exactly what you did in your experiemnt. It should be detailed enough for someone else to repeat what you did. It does not ned to contain any extra information. Many people say it is better to be written in the third person:-

//25g Calcium carbonate was added to 50ml Hydrochloric Acid//

Not

//I put some marbles chips into the acid to see what would happen. The marble chips contain a chemical called calcium carbonate, which is like limestone. My teacher says the acid is Hydrochloric Acid, which is what you get in your stomach//

Try to get the information out as efficiently as you can.

Diagram
Your method is likely to contain a diagram as it is more efficient than describing your apparatus (equipment). Diagrams should be drawn in pencil, with a ruler, and should use some of the standard symbols for equipment.

A list of equipment might be necessary, or it might be OK to label your diagram.

=Results=

All your results need to be recorded. The easiest way to do this is in a table. When you draw a table try to follow these simple rules.

with the correct number of decimal places to show accuracy ||
 * The first row is for headings || This should contain the name of the quantity you are measuring
 * with units**||
 * Lines should be drawn with pencils and **ruler** || ||
 * ||Numbers should be written clearly

=Conclusion=

What do your results show you? Do they back up your prediction of you made one

=Evaluation=

Looking back at your experiment, are there better methods you have found? Could you have improved your experiment