2020 General Physics Lab.

How to write a
Physics Lab report
Contents

 Abstract
 Introduction
 Procedure
 Results(& Calculation)
 Discussion and Conclusions
 Laboratory Questions
 Reference
 Writing skills
1. Abstract

Abstract is a single paragraph stating the important results of your experiment. It should include the
numerical values, with appropriate units and uncertainties, and the most important conclusions drawn
from the experiment.

Abstract (example)
past tense
The purpose of this experiment was to measure and compare the spring constant of a steel spring using two different
types of the springs. First we investigated the relationship between the force applied to a spring and the
displacement of the spring from its rest length. We hung various masses from the springs, and measured the vertical
displacement. We found a spring constant of 2.94 ± 0.01 N/m. Our results confirmed Hooke’s Law, Fs = -kx. In the
second procedure, we set the spring into vertical oscillation with a suspended mass and measured the period of
oscillation. Using this method, we found a spring constant of 2.98 ± 0.02 N/m. Our results verified that the period of
oscillation depended on the effective mass of the spring and the period of oscillation. (131 words)

An Alternate Abstract (example)

Two experiments were performed to find the spring constant of a steel spring. The spring constant was determined
statically, by measuring its elongation when subjected to loading, and dynamically, by measuring the period of a mass
hung from one end and set into vertical oscillation. The resulting values of 2.94 ± 0.01 N/m and 2.98 ± 0.02 N/m,
respectively. Our spring's behavior followed Hooke's law to within the limits of accuracy of the two experiments.
(76 words) Unit, uncertainties
1. Abstract

Abstract is a concise, one-paragraph (100-200 words) summary. It is a “lab report in miniature”.

It should not include details of the procedure.

Write the abstract after all the other sections are completed. (You need to know everything in the report
before you can write a summary of it.)

An Abstract (example)
We measured the speed of a ball leaving a projectile launcher by clamping the launcher to the top of a 1.00 m high
table, and launching the projectile horizontally into the room. We measured how far from the table the ball hit, and
used that number with the height of the table and the acceleration due to gravity g=9.8m/s2 to determine how fast
the ball was moving when it left the launcher.

Remember to be concise. An concise sentence (example)

We measured the speed of a ball leaving a spring-loaded projectile launcher by measuring the horizontal distance
traveled after launching it from the top of a lab table,….
2. Introduction

Introduction provides an important background information for understanding the experiment, including a
complete description of the theory basis of the measurement, and explain the motives for performing this
particular experiment.

This section primarily helps the reader understand the importance of experiments and all the issues to be
addressed later. The key questions to address in this section of the report are " Why are you doing this
experiment? " and " What do you want to find? “

It should include a complete description of the theory, all of the important equations and what you have to
measure. If you need to refer back to an equation later, you should use the number: “… We combine
Equation 2 and Equation 7 to get an expression for the moment of inertia in terms of the measured velocity
of the hanging mass. …”

Introduction (example)
Use the present tense for the description of theory
This report discusses an experiment to study the relationship of temperature and pressure of an ideal gas (air) that
was heated in a closed container. Because the ideal gas was in a closed container, its volume remained constant. The
objective of the experiment is to test whether the ideal equation of state holds. In the equation,
pV = mRT, ………. (1) Put the number for equation
where p is the pressure the gas, V is the volume, m is the mass, R is a constant, and T is temperature. This report pre
-sents the procedures for the experiment, the experiment's results, and an analysis of those results.
…….
2. Introduction

Equation should be set off on a separate line, and indented with respect to the rest of the text as beneath
example.
Any symbol that appears in the equations should be identified the first time it appears.
(“F=ma, where F is the applied force, m is the mass, and a is the acceleration“).
Do not express equations in pseudo-computer code.
1
(i.e., 𝐾 = 𝑚𝑣 2 , not K=0.5*m*v^2)
2
Do not talk about the pedagogical purpose of the lab
(i.e. “The purpose of this lab was to help us learn about conservation of energy.”)

Introduction (example)
present tense
The final velocity can be easily calculated by application of Newton’s second law and kinematics. Let the mass of
the glider be M, the hanging mass, m and the release height, h. The force on the system is the downward force of
gravity on the hanging mass, F=mg, using Newton’s second law for the compound system,

𝑚
𝑎=𝑔 …………. (1)
𝑚+𝑀
Letting the initial position be 0m, and the initial velocity be 0m/s, kinematics then yields the final velocity:

𝑚
𝑣𝑓 = 2𝑔ℎ …………. (2)
𝑚+𝑀
The final velocity of the glider should be that given by Equation (2). Prediction for experiment
3. Experimental Procedure

Procedure is to describe how you conducted your experiment including any novel approaches, difficulties
you had, or interesting observations. Go through each and every step you took, keeping in mind that a
reader who is completely unfamiliar with your experiment should be able to read your procedure and
repeat experiment exactly the way you did it

The procedure must include a description of the apparatus used, which will always include a diagram of the
lab set-up.

past tense Experimental Procedure (example)

write what actually you did
We placed the electrodes, and punched the small holes using the bolts and nuts between the carbonite paper and
the metal bars to fix them. Then we connected them to the power supply (10V). With help of the probes connected
to the volt-meter, we plotted the electric force lines and drew an arrow when the potential was shown in the highest.
We repeated to prove the electric force lines until the number of lines became 7 to figure out the electric field lines.

Include a diagram that you have to

label all diagrams and figures.

[Fig 1. parallel plate capacitor]

3. Experimental Procedure

If you are following instructions from a lab book or manual, do not just copy the steps from it. The
description need to be in “scientific” style; “This experiment was fun” is NOT what we are looking for!

It should not be written in the form of instructions to another person or lab group.
( i.e. you should write “ We measured the height with a meter stick,” not “Measure the height using a
meter stick.”)

procedure in common mistake (example)

a. Locate the electrodes symmetrically.
b. Punch small holes to fix the electrodes and fix the electrodes with bolts and nuts.
c. Connect two electrodes to the power supply, turn on the power supply.
d. Measure the voltage.
e. When the 2nd probe’s potential be the highest, draw an arrow on the paper.
f. Measure the electric potential value.
g. Move the grounded probe to the tip, find the direction for which the potential is highest.
h. Draw a new line
i. Place a new line. Do not copy the instruction in the manual !!!
j. Place a probe at new line.
k. Repeat above procedure.
4. Results (& Calculations)

Results includes your raw data that you collected during your experiment. Make sure that it is clearly
organized and include units of measurements. A table is usually helpful for organizing data, or graph or
charts.

Each figure or table should be numbered in the order in which they appear in the report and accompanied
by a descriptive caption explaining what is shown. (i.e. Figure 1 : Relation between Restoring force vs
Displacement Magnitude )

Graphs of data must include clearly labeled axes, including the units. Tables of data must include clearly
labeled rows and columns, including the units and uncertainties.
‘’ The moment of inertia of a rod
and point mass’’ experiment Results cited from students’ report (example)

Figure 6. Angular acceleration-time graph (Point mass)

4. Results (& Calculations)

Result section should also include an explanation of any calculations done using the data.

It should include text highlighting and explaining the important features of the data, referring to figures
and tables by number (i.e. “As we see in Figure 3, there is a linear relationship between the applied force
and the acceleration of an object.”)

“E-field lines and equipotential lines “ experiment

Results & Calculations (example)

[Fig 1.] Electric field lines and Equipotential liens of the parallel plate capacitor
As we see in Fig 1, the electrical field lines appeared perpendicular to the parallel conductor. The electrical field
lines at the edge of the plates show to be curved. Besides, the equipotential lines appeared parallel to the
conductor at the area inside of the capacitor. However, the voltage of the outside surface of the plates are proved
as nearly zero. Each maximum voltage difference between two points tend larger aground the metal plates……
4. Results (& Calculations)

Calculations take you from the data to the final result. If many similar calculation are involved, just
include one sample calculation in detail.

If you are calculating a result that is to be compared with a theoretical or given value, you must
calculate the percent error between your experimental (calculated) value and the theoretical
(accepted) value:
Percent error = [(accepted value - your value) ÷ accepted value] x 100%
“one dimensional motion“ experiment

Results & Calculations (example)

In the second experiment, we put four different slotted weights(40g, 80g, 100g, 120g) and repeated the
measurement in 0.8m distance. We can estimated the mass of the glider assuming that the track is frictionless and
spring potential energy entirely transfer into the kinetic energy of the glider.
1 1 1
𝑈 = ∆𝐾 = 𝑚𝑣 2 − 𝑚𝑣02 = 𝑚𝑣 2 (∵ 𝑣0 = 0) ………… (eq. 1)
2 2 2
.… We can calculate the mass of the glider applying the eq. 1. Let set 𝑚𝑔 is the mass of glider. The eq.1 becomes
1 1 1 1 1
as followings; 2 𝑚𝑔 + 0 𝑣12 = 2 𝑚𝑔 + 40 𝑣22 = 2 𝑚𝑔 + 80 𝑣32 = 2 𝑚𝑔 + 100 𝑣42 = 2 𝑚𝑔 + 120 𝑣52 . We can
determine the mass of glider as 162.2g on average. However, the actual mass of the glider is 208.4g. The
percentage error of the glider is 22.2%.
5. Discussion and Conclusion

Discussion and conclusion include to analyze your data and tells the readers what the data actually
means. There is the information about how your results compare to your expectations or hypothesis
including with the possible sources and types of errors in your measurements.
 Determination of a physical quantity
(i.e. time constant for RC circuit, the ratio for charge to mass of an electron)
 Agreement or disagreement with theoretical predictions either
quantitative (i.e. the measured time constant with R=100kΩ, C=100μF is 9.8s±2%. ) or
qualitative (i.e. The greater the resistance value, the longer it takes to charge and discharge. Hence, the time
constant in experiment with 100kΩ is bigger than the time constant in experiment with 10kΩ)
 Comparison of difference techniques (i.e. one method gave 6.0±0.2 m/s, the other 6.019±0.002 m/s, thus the
second is more precise.)

“Training oscilloscope and Basic circuits” experiment Note that final numerical values include an
estimate of uncertainty.
Discussion and Conclusion (example)
Explain the physical principle used in the experiment.
In the process of charging, to obtain the time constant, by the (eq. 1) it converts into 1 − 𝑒 −1 𝜀 ≈ 0.63𝜀. Thus, the
time constant can be measured when the voltage reaches 63% of the maximum voltage from power supply. On the
other hand, the theoretical value can be calculated by getting the product of resistance R and capacitance C, while
the experimental value is measured by the curve which displaying in the oscilloscope. The theoretical value can be
calculated in 𝝉=1s with 10kΩ resistance and 100μF. The experimental time constant was obtained 1.02s with error 2%.
If keeping the capacitor same value, and changing the resistance from 10kΩ to 100kΩ, the time constant increases
ten times. The time constant in experiment with 100kΩ is 9.25s with the error 8%. Therefore, the greater the
resistance value, the longer it takes to charge and discharge. …. Stating the result qualitatively.
5. Discussion and Conclusion

Discussion and Conclusion include a discussion of the limits of the measurements and techniques used in
the experiment. What are the main sources of measurement uncertainty? What steps did you take to
minimize the error? You give a statement of how the measurement could be improved or extended.

Do not start by declaring that the experiment was a success!!!!

“Simple Harmonic Oscillation” experiment

Discussion and Conclusion (example)

….. There is uncertainty (1%) in the mass of the slotted weights. The value of the spring constant found in Step 1
(2.94±0.01 N/m) and Step 2 (2.98± 0.02 N/m) do not agree. However, the percent difference between the two values
is only 1%. One possible explanation for the small discrepancy may be that the time measurements were precise, but
not accurate due to a systematic error in the timing. If our time measurements of the twenty oscillations were low by
as little as 0.05s, then the spring constant values would agree.
Analysis of the uncertainty and suggestion to improve.

Besides measuring the spring constant using two very different methods, we verified Hooke’s law, verified the
linear relationship between period squared and load for a vertically oscillating spring, and observed that the
amplitude of the oscillations did not affect the period.
Stating the summary of key result and interpretation of the experiment.
6. Laboratory Questions

Laboratory Questions should be answered. Be sure to answer all of the questions from the manual.
It helps to analyze the physical meaning. There is a high score on the grading scale.

7. Reference

Reference – If you mentioned prior work or theory in your introduction, used outside references,
sources to help you, or cited values of constants or quantities that aren’t considered to be common
knowledge, you’ll include those references, properly.

State complete references to any books, articles, websites, etc. from which you obtained information
used in your report. Indicate, in the appropriate places in the body of the report, where theses
references are being used.

Reference (example)

Books
Author, A. A. (year). Title of work. Location: Publisher.
Journal Articles
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Article title. Journal Title, volume number(issue number), page
numbers
 7. Reference

Books
- Note that only the first word and proper nouns in the title of the book are capitalized.
- The title of the book is italicized (except the edition number)
Journal Articles
- Include the author’ last name(s), but only the initials of their first and middle name.
- The title of the article, only the first letter of the title is capitalized.
- However, the title of the journal has all major words capitalized and is italicized.
- Directly following the title of the journal is the volume number (italicized), the issue number, if known
(not italicized), and the page numbers (not italicized).
Web Sites
- If it is known, include the author or editor of the individual source.
- Next, include the posting or revision date, if available.
- include the title of the source and the name of the project, database or Web site.

Books
Reference (example)
Author, A. A. (year). Title of work. Location: Publisher.
[1] Freedman, D., Pisani, R., Purves, R., & Adhikari, A. (1991). Statistics (2nd ed.). New York: Norton
Journal Articles
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Article title. Journal Title, volume number(issue number), page numbers
[2] M. Bershadsky, C. Vafa and V. Sadov, (1996) D-branes and topological field theories, Nucl. Phys. B463 420
Web Sites
Author/Editor/Institution. Title: site/path/file
[3] Cody, D. (2000). Queen Victoria. The Victorian Web. Retrieved January 19, 2002, from
http://landow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/victor6.html
Writing Skills for the lab reports

1. Use full sentences and proper grammar.

While writing skills may seem irrelevant to science, it is actually important that scientists can articulate
their methods and conclusions. The laboratory results are useless without a well-written report.

2. Focus on Clarity.
You have to make sure that your readers actually understand. Read it to look for sentences that are too
long or unclear.
Active sentences are usually easier to understand than passive sentences. Try to minimize your use of
the passive voices whenever possible.

3. Stick to the third person.

You should avoid using the pronouns “I”, “we”, ”my”, and “our” at all costs. The third person point of
view sounds much more authoritative.

4. Write in the present tense.

For the most part, you should always write your lab report in the present tense.
The past tense is appropriate for discussing your procedure and the results of past experiments.

5. Include headings and labels.

It is also important to label any charts, tables, or figures you include in your reports so that you can refer
back to them and your readers will know where to look.
Expression frequently used for the lab reports

Abstract
The aim/ purpose/ objective of the lab course/ lab practice/ the experiment is ….

Introduction
If explain on the principle or equation, often use
It is derived from ….
It is written/ defined/expressed/ represented/denoted as .… / It indicates ….

Procedure
Only use the past tense. Do not use “then” repeatedly.
For the device operation:
… was operated/ used/ controlled/ conducted/ performed
i.e. The value was calculated/derived/measured/interpreted by equipment.
For the configuration:
It is composed of/ consists of
For the condition:
This condition was set/needed/required/ asked to ….
Expression frequently used for the lab reports

Results & Calculations

For the graphs:
It was shown/marked/expressed/observed/plotted

For the results:

It was confirmed/observed/determined/demonstrated/proved
Discussion and Conclusion
For the agreement of the hypothesis or theoretical expectation:
It corresponds to/ coincides with/ accords with/ complies with

For a topic or problem:

With regard to(regarding)/ concerning/ in terms of/ with respect to/ when it comes to/ in respect of/ as to

For the comparison:

Comparison between A and B/ In comparison of / compared to

For changing variables:

It was tuned/ changed/adjusted/differed/ varied

When you obtain the values:

The parameter/variable/constant/value was obtained/calculated/known/formulated