Physics 123
Checklist for a Physics Lab Report

NAME:________________________

GRADE:_______________________

 
I)  Abstract      10pts

____   Summarize in paragraph form
____   State results
____   Uncertainty and units
____   Compare/explain results

II) Introduction      20 pts

____   Discuss motivation of experiment
____   Describe theory being tested
____   Describe specific prediction of interest

III) Experimental Procedure   20 pts      

____   Write out in paragraph form
____   Describe apparatus used
____   Include only important details
____   Explain measurements made
____   Include uncertainty estimates

IV) Results       30 pts

____   Write out in paragraph form
____   Clearly labeled data tables
____   Units, uncertainties
____   Figures (where appropriate)
____   Labels on figures
____   Refer to figures and tables in text
____   Calculations from data
____   Errors and uncertainties in calculations

V) Discussion/ Conclusions   20 pts

____   First Paragraph: Summarize experiment briefly and
          give results of experiment, including numerical results
____   Further interpretations, implications
____   Agreement/ disagreement with predictions
____   Comparison of methods (where appropriate)
____   Possible improvements

VI) General Writing   50 pts

____   Organization
____   Sentence structure, grammar
____   Spelling, proofreading

 

Based on Chad Orzel's Physics 120 Lab Report Checklist

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Last Updated: September 17, 2007