Lab Report Template PDF

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Summary

Create lab report for material science lab...

Description

University of Texas at San Antonio College of Engineering, San Antonio, Texas ME 3244: Materials Engineering & Laboratory Section Number: .................... TA:................................. Experiment Number: ...:Title: ................................................... GROUP/INDIVIDUAL LABORATORY REPORT Experiment Date: ........... ...............................Date of Submission: Names of team members

Common for all

Signature

Assigned Sections

Grade points obtained

Sections 1, 2

Section No.

Section

Maximum Marks

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Overall Organization and Readability Technical Writing and Adherence to Lab Report Format Abstract Introduction Theoretical Background Apparatus or Equipment Used Experimental Procedure Results and Discussion Conclusions Total

10 10 10 10 10 5 10 25 10 100

Grade points obtained

i

Abstract: A general guideline for an abstract is that it has five sections or areas of focus: why the experiment was conducted; the problem being addressed; what methods were used to solve the problem; the major results obtained; and the overall conclusions from the experiment as a whole. Do not be misled, however, from this list into thinking that the abstract is a long section. In fact, it should be significantly shorter than all of the others. All of this information should be summarized in a clear but succinct manner if the abstract is going to be successful. An estimated average length for all of this information is only a single paragraph. Although this may seem as though it is a short length to contain all of the required information, it is necessary because it forces you to be accurate and yet compact, to essential qualities. There should be no reference to any section/figure/table in the abstract. The abstract MUST to be before the “Table of Contents” page and should NOT be on the back of the Title page.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section

Page

Abstract

ii

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 2. Theory .......................................................................................................................... 1 3. Apparatus ..................................................................................................................... 1 4. Procedure ..................................................................................................................... 1 5. Results and Discussion................................................................................................. 1 6. Conclusions .................................................................................................................. 2 7. References .................................................................................................................... 2 Appendix 1 ....................................................................................................................... A Appendix 2 ........................................................................................................................ B

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Impact Energy Versus Temperature ................................................................... 7 Figure 2. Hardness Versus Carbon Content in Carbon Steel ............................................. 9

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Tensile Strength and Hardness Correlation ......................................................... 8 Table 2. Tensile Test Data for Carbon Steel ...................................................................... 8

3

1

Introduction

This section is to provide a brief background of the experiment explaining its purpose and objectives. However, do not copy/paste the abstract. All the report has to be kept as brief as possible. Never use the first or second person. Never say “I carried out 5 hardness measurements” or even worse “You carried out 5 hardness measurements”. Instead write “Five hardness measurements were carried out”. Lab reports are written in a combination of past and present tense, depending on what you are writing about. If you are writing about things you did (actions that took place in the past), such as the details of your procedure and the results that you observed, use the past tense. 2

Theory

An outline of relevant theory is to be provided. Equations used to amplify the theory must include a definition of all symbols used and the associated units. Where proofs of theory or much additional information regarding theory relative to this work is available in existing publications, proper reference to such publications shall be provided. 3

Apparatus

Provide a brief narrative description of the apparatus (equipment) used in the performance of the experiment. Include the manufacturer and model number. This section is not merely a listing of equipment, but narratively describes the equipment, its important features, how to interconnect the various pieces of equipment together and how the resulting system functions. There is no need to include the photographs of the commonly used laboratory equipment. 4

Procedure

Provide a brief narrative description of the procedure followed throughout the testing operation. This section is not a mere listing of steps copied from laboratory manual. If your procedure had to deviate from that provided in the instructions for the experiment, describe the deviation and why it was necessary for such a deviation. This section is to be kept as brief as possible. 5

Results and Discussion

A narrative discussion is required to present the results of your experiment. This section must integrate text and relevant graphs, tables, drawings, equations and references in a logical discussion. Such relevant graphs, tables, drawings, equations and references should appear close to the text that references them and not in the Appendix. Graphs and tables have to be numbered and titled as shown in figure 1 and table 1.

1

Figure 1. Title Table 1. Title Sample number

Thickness (mm)

Elongation (%)

Force (N)

1 2 3 Average Error

Tables and figures have to be referenced to in the text using “Figure 1” or “Table 1”. In graphs, the x and y-axes need to be labeled and have the appropriate unit for any property. The same thing applies to table, any property requires a unit whenever possible. The captions should be free-standing and self-explanatory. Finally, they should be numbered in the order in which they are first referred to in the text. The “Abstract” and “Results and Discussion” sections are the most important sections of the report. 6

Conclusions

The report’s conclusions should be concise. The objective of the experiment could be restated in the first sentence of this section. State whether the objectives were successfully achieved or not during the experiment. They must be supported by previously presented and discussed results. This section does not include a lengthy discussion of results. Discussion of results belongs in the "Results and Discussion" section. Be sure to highlight significant features of the experiment and results. Unsupported statements are never satisfactory. Refer to ALL significant data points found throughout the lab. Results could be substantiated using quantitative numbers. Indicate how these results could be used in planning for future experiments. 7

References

Use Harvard referencing style.

2

Appendix 1.

A

Appendix 2.

B...