Physics Lab Reports

Each lab report must be individually prepared. You may not submit, cut out and paste, or photocopy the instruction sheets. Your report must consist of:

q A title page. Put your name and the date on the title page.

q A statement of the purpose of the experiment.

q A description of the procedure. State what quantities are measured and the instruments used.

q List the formulas you use to analyze your data.

q A table of your data. Tables must contain headings which clearly identify the quantities measured and the units used. Each entry in the table must contain the correct number of significant figures.

q The results of your calculations. These should be clearly presented with the correct units and number of significant figures.

q If the experiment requires graphs, they must be done on graph paper. Choose a scale so that the data points occupy a large part of the page. Put a title on each graph, and clearly label each axis. Axis labels should specify the units.

q In most of your labs you will measure quantities for which there is a generally accepted value. In such cases calculate the % difference between your measured result and the accepted value:

q Feel free to include any comments you may have about the experiment. If you feel it taught you something useful, say so. If you think that there is something wrong with the lab, or that the lab could be improved in some manner, let me know.