Lab Format
During the semester, we will have a series of laboratory investigations.
The following pages will be the contents of your lab reports. The following is the format of the lab report:
Heading: Name, Date and Group members in the upper right hand corner: Mr. Paine
Lab partner: Phred Physics
August 21, 2002
Title: Bleeding orange and blue: A spirit comparison between Illini fans and Redbird fans
Purpose (Lab Goals): This is where you tell me what you set out to find in your investigation.
The purpose of this lab is to compare the spirit between Illini fans and Redbird fans
Procedure: Outline the procedure you followed in the lab. Incorporate any theory you know, or may be testing.
In order to compare Illini fans to Redbird fans, we placed microphones in the center of the football field at the first football game of the season. Decibel levels were recorded every five minutes throughout the game and were averaged. (See tables and graphs below)
This procedure was concise for the sake of time. (More detailed explanation will be expected in your labs.)
Data Tables/ Graphs: Depending on the nature of the labs, data tables and graphs may be required. On all graphs, the use of graph paper, and attention to detail will be expected. Please follow the instructions in the lab handout.
Results: Here discuss your results. In other words, qualitatively describe the data that you took.
As seen in the graph A and data table B, the average decibel level of the fans at the Illini football game were a whole 30 db higher than that of the Redbird game. Furthermore, more fans with bodypaint and spirit colored hardhats were noted at the Illini game.
Conclusion: The conclusion should wrap up your investigation. Describe your findings and how accurate or precise you expect them to be. Are they believable? Are they credible? Some ideas for questions to answer in your conclusion:
What did you find?: We discovered that Illini football fans are more "true to their school" than are Redbird fans on the basis of the fan volume test.
Do you think your results are accurate? Do your results match what you expected? Our results agree with our theory that Illini fans are more spirited than Redbird fans. However, we did not expect the great difference in decibel readings that we achieved.
Are their any possible sources of error? Describe how these may affect your results. Our primary source of error was Phred. He broke two microphones and goalposted the redbird. (Your groupmates are not a valid source of error) Rather, discuss the source of error and describe the effect it had on your data.
How can you improve the experiment? We can further investigate spirit by testing fans to see if they *literally* bleed orange and blue (or red). Blood samples will be taken and compared to official team colors. (Unfortunately in this test, my money will be on Redbird spirit.)
More guidance on expectations will be provided with the lab handouts. They will vary depending on the nature of the lab.
Hopefully these hints have helped. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.
