Lab Report on Physics: Facing Difficulties
Physics is a subject that intends to answer questions that pertain to natural occurrences; more often than not, the study of Physics involves hands-on experimentation and lab work. Needless to mention, reporting the experiment and its outcome in an efficient manner is equally significant. It is quintessential that your Physics lab report includes all aspects of your experiment, as otherwise your lab report will deemed to be incomplete or unreliable.
Lecture, discussion and laboratory experiments are three important components of any Physics topic. Each of these components serve a unique purpose, and hence it is important that students pay due attention to each of these components to come up with an impressive lab report.
One must prepare well before indulging in experimentation in a laboratory. The success of your experiment depends largely on your preparation and hence it is highly recommended that you read and understand apposite sections of the text before attempting the associated experiments in the laboratory. Moreover, you also need to have a thorough understanding of the concept as your instructor, at any time, can ask you or your lab group to explain data and the predictions of your experiment to other groups.
Given below are few tips and suggestions that will help you come up with a high-quality Physics lab report:
While working in the lab, you should try and collect all the relevant data. It helps to know that all laboratory reports need to be written either in pen standard loose sheets of paper; students can also word-process their document.
Students should use only one side of the paper for writing.
The first page of your laboratory should have your name on the right corner of the first page. If you have done the experiment in a group, then you must write the name of all the members of your laboratory team as well.
The title of your report should be placed on the center of the first pages of your report. Moreover each and every section of your report should be prefaced appropriately with their respective section names.
Given below is a brief insight into the different sections of a standard Physics Lab Report:
Purpose
As the name suggests, this section of your report should state the purpose of your laboratory investigation. In other words, the purpose of a lab report is a statement that defined that problem that is being investigated through the experiment. It forms the basis of your experiment and your lab report and must be addressed in the lab report's conclusion without fail.
Apparatus
All laboratory apparatus used in the investigation, along with a detailed diagram to illustrate the configuration of the apparatus, should be included in this section. See example below. The variables to be measured should be clearly pictured.
Procedure
While writing this section, it is important for you to write in a simple language that is intelligible to audience that was not present during the experimentation in the lab. This section should throw light on all the variables used in the experiment, and also on how the independent variables were controlled in the lab.
Data
The values that are measured and noted directly during the experiment are data. The values collected should be directly collected during the experiment in the lab, and should not involve any evaluation, manipulation or interpretation of the values obtained in the laboratory. However, one can indulge in as many trials as possible to obtain accurate data in the laboratory. While collecting data, one must cautiously mention the used unit of measurement in the column heading.
Evaluation or Calculation of Data
This is the section that includes all evaluations, interpretations, graphs and post experiment calculations. While producing the content for this section, it is important to mention all the formulas and symbols properly. If recurring calculations are to be done, then it is best to put one set of data per formula, after which, all the supplementary values should be placed in a table of values. One need not show the arithmetic values in this section.
Conclusion
The conclusion is undoubtedly one of the most crucial sections of your Physics lab report, especially as it establishes the correlation between different variables. Use illustrations, graphs and tables to make your conclusion more effective and clear. Most importantly, the conclusion should define all the terms that are the direct or indirect result of your interpretation or evaluation of the data obtained during the experiment. The conclusion of your Physics Lab Report should also provide readers with a reasonable explanation of all the results achieved, especially if the results achieved during the experiment are different from what was anticipated.
If you face difficulties during the writing of the Physics Lab Report, then it is best to discuss them with the members of your laboratory group. Since they were a part of the same group, it is more than a probability that a discussion with them will help you reach a common consensus. However, if you do not have a solution even after discussing with your group members, it is best to approach your instructor and seek his help. Remember, one should not hesitate to use one's instructor as a resource.
Majority of the Physics students consider lab report writing as an intimidating task. However, it need not be so. A little bit of patience and perseverance is required during laboratory work and research experiments to come up with a good lab report. Once the students have a decent knowledge of the required format and the desired scientific style, then the writing part does not seem to be that challenging. Students should also know how to interpret and evaluate data correctly to come up with a lab report that is accurate. Last but not the least; it is also crucial that students revise, proofread and edit the report to polish it and bring the quality up to the desired level.
Once you pay attention to the above-mentioned Physics Lab Report Writing suggestions and tips, you should not face much difficulty in coming up with a quality lab report.
