Writing A Laboratory Report

Writing a laboratory report.

One or two short sentences that describe the reason for doing the experiment. It will often begin with: To find out … To investigate … To compare … To make …

Why write a laboratory report? Scientists perform experiments to find out answers to their questions. When their experiments are completed, a report is written to tell others about their work.

Name: Alexander Leach

Soluble or insoluble? Date: 11/3/09

Partner: James Stewart

Aim: To investigate the solubility of a range of substances. Materials & Methods: As per textbook p35 (Nardelli, 2004).

It is important that these reports are written using the correct format, in order to ensure that all the important information is included. To help you write your laboratory reports correctly, follow the guidelines given on this page.

All practical reports should include your name, your partner’s name, the date and the title of the experiment.

Results:

A list of all the chemicals & equipment used, together with the set of steps you followed to do the experiment, including any special safety precautions. The method needs to be clear enough so that anyone reading the report would be able to repeat your experiment. If you are exactly repeating a published method, you may be able to cite the source rather than write out the full method

Measurements and observations made during the experiment. These are often recorded in a table or on a graph.

Substance mixed with water

Clear or cloudy?

Solution (soluble) or suspension (insoluble)

Salt

clear

solution

Sugar

clear

solution

Flour

cloudy

suspension

Coffee

clear

solution

Sand

cloudy/clear (initially cloudy, but settled on bottom over time)

suspension

Copper sulfate

clear

solution

Copper carbonate

cloudy

suspension

Discussion: What your results show and a possible explanation of them. Any difficulties you had or ideas for improving the experiment may also be written in this section.

A short statement describing what you found out. The conclusion relates back to the aim.

If you use material or information that is directly based on the work of another writer, then you should always make reference to it.

1.

Salt, sugar, coffee and copper sulfate all dissolved in water.

2.

You can tell if a substance has dissolved by looking at the mixture. If it is cloudy or there is sediment on the bottom, then the substance has not dissolved. If the mixture is clear then it has dissolved.

3.

Mixtures of flour, sand and copper carbonate could all be separated by filtration.

Conclusion: We investigated the solubility of several substances in water, and found that salt, sugar, coffee and copper sulfate were all soluble. Flour, sand and copper carbonate were all insoluble in water. If a substance dissolves in water the mixture will be clear. If a substance does not dissolve in water it will form a cloudy suspension, and may eventually settle to the bottom. Reference: Nardelli, D. (2004). Science Alive 1. Brisbane: John Wiley & Sons.