How to write a “Formal” Lab Report In biology, you ... - nnhsbergbio

How to write a “Formal” Lab Report
In biology, you will be asked to write three types of lab reports: informal, formal,
and really formal (inquiry-based). The informal lab report is easy. You will be
given an Analysis Sheet with data tables and questions to fill-in. A formal lab
report will not have an Analysis Sheet and should be typed up on the computer
– thus giving it the “formal” title. The really formal lab report is only given once
in a great while. This is a typed, detailed, professional report designed for an
inquiry-based lab.
For a FORMAL lab report, you will need to include:
Heading
o Name
o Date
o Block
Title of the lab
Objectives
Data
o Organized into tables, charts, or graphs.
Analysis Questions
o Answer one at a time in complete sentences.
o Do not write one a big paragraph.
o Do address any sources of error in the lab that may have given you
results differing from the class.
In writing clear, detailed answers to analysis questions, remember these rules to
a good answer:
1. Restate the question as a sentence.
2. Support your answer with a reference to your data or the class data.
a. Remember to address any source of error that might have led your
results to be different from the class data.
b. Remember that data is never wrong! If your data is off from what is
expected, then there must have been error within the experimental
procedure. Do not change your data – explain it.
3. Explain the “why” or the “how.” (Remember data is not an explanation!)

Sample Answers to Worm Lab
Data Table
Percent Seawater Weight (g) Pulse (bpm) Observations of Behavior
100 2.78 14 Swimming around the bowl; rolling over on its back and
then flipping around; no pinchers showing; turning
around when poked with a pencil; quick movement
75 3.4 13 Squirming a lot when first placed in new solution, then
slowing down; no pinchers showing; still moving quite a
bit; responds to a poke with a pencil.
50 3.56 11 Not happy when placed in new solution; showing its
pinchers; movement starts to slow down; its response
time to pencil is very poor
25 4.1 7 Pinchers showing more than once; mouth opening and
closing; lifting head out of water; slower movements;
stretching out its body and not curling up; no longer
responding to a gentle poke by a pencil
0 5.6 4 Pincers out; stretched out; no response to poke, looks
dead; no voluntary movement
Class Data; generally the same as my group’s data shown above
Question: What is the relationship between the percent seawater and the
worm’s pulse. Give a reason for this relationship.
Very Poor Answer: “As one goes up, the other goes down. Its pulse goes down
because it started at 14 and ended at 4.”
What is wrong with this answer
Does not restate the question as a statement.
Uses pronouns without identifying what they are in the beginning.
What is “one”, the “other”, or “its”
Confuses the data as a reason or an explanation.
Does not use units for the quantitative data.
Very Good Answer: “As the percent seawater decreased, the worm’s pulse also
decreased as shown by an overall drop from 14 bpm to only 4 bpm at the end
(See Data Table). One possible reason for the decrease in pulse is the fact that
the worm is under stress in its new environment. In order to maintain
homeostasis, the worm lowers its pulse and becomes less active to reserve its
energy.”
What is right with this answer
Everything. (See tips from previous page.)