Physics Experiment Report Format
Name:
Title:
Hypothesis:
Overview:
Procedure: See Experiment Instructions
Data Table: See Experiment data sheet(s)
Uncertainty & Error:
Conclusion/Summary:
Application:_
Title: The experiment name. Do not include the Module number. Again, do not expect credit if not included.
Hypothesis: Statement that the experiment is going to test, prove, or disprove. What is the point of the experiment? (Make a statement that the experiment will either clearly prove or disprove.)
• NOT a hypothesis: “To prove the Conservation of Momentum/Newton’s Third Law” or “What happens when I drop/swing a ball on a Newton’s Cradle.”
• IS a hypothesis: “Using the law of conservation of momentum, releasing X number of balls on one side of the line of balls will result in the same number of balls being propelled outward on the opposite side with the same velocity and momentum.” While the hypothesis does not need to be so detailed or long, it does need to make a statement specific enough to be testable in order to prove or disprove.
Overview: Brief summary of what was tested, how it was tested, and what occurred in the experiment (as in the general actions or procedures). Should include specifics (or at least some aspects) of the hypothesis.
Procedures: See Experiment Instructions (use this phrase; do not include actual procedures from the experiment).
Data Table: See Experiment Data Table (use this phrase; do not include actual data or tables from the experiment).
Uncertainty & Error: Can you trust your data?
Considerations:
1) What factors may have affected or biased the data and introduced uncertainty in the experiment measurements? Or, what conditions created uncertainty in your measurements? Which measurements were most affected?”
2) If you were conducting the experiment in a physical environment, what other factors would have to be taken into account while accomplishing the procedures? How might they affect the data and/or experiment outcome?
