Lab 1

• When (and when not) to measure repeatedly and average the results:  Is the accuracy as great as the precision?
• All data should be reported unless you know how or why the experiment failed and unless you know the data is worthless.  Not all data needs to be analyzed.  But if you reject data for analysis, you must record why.  Others may choose a different analysis from the same data and need the rejected data.  
• Science only works when the investigators report their results with 100% integrity. 
• 5 questions to answer when writing the conclusion section of a formal lab report:
• What was the purpose of this lab?  Why did we do it?
• What did you learn?  Did you succeed in achieving all objectives established by your purpose?   If not, why not?
• List all the possible sources of error that you can think of.
• Which of these sources of error would you consider to be important enough to try to fix?
• How would you improve this lab to achieve our goals better (what would you do to reduce errors)?

Lab 2 (speed lab)

• When experimental time is limited, take the data first.  Analyze it before or after the data taking time.
• Do not connect the dots on data graphs!   We usually only do this for presentation graphs.
• Graphing data:  Linear and nonlinear fits to data [see Math Skills].
• Forming conclusions and formulas from graphs of data [see Math Skills].
• Formulas for linear equations and common nonlinear equations [see Math Skills].
• Experiments => data => graphs => formulas.

Lab 3 (acceleration lab)
More graphing and analysis:

• Make sure that graphs are properly scaled (same increase in value per “block” for all “blocks” along a given axis.
• Make sure that the graphs are properly labeled with variable names and units.
• Make linear or curvilinear fits to data.
• If the origin is a logical data point, it is your most accurate data point.  If the origin is the most accurate data point, the curve should go through the origin.
• The slope of a distance-time graph is the velocity.  For a constantly accelerating object, the distance-time graph curves upward with an ever-increasing slope, because the velocity is continuously increasing.

[---Lab 4---(No lab skill objectives---]

Lab 5 (skateboard lab)     [This is a discovery lab, objective specifics are not listed]

• How to design a research plan.
• How to select variables as independent and dependent variables.
• How and when to control other variables.
• How to use a spreadsheet program to record data, to make calculations and to make scatter plots.
• How to graph data.
• How to use graphs ans feedback in revising a research plan.
• How to interpret graphs as error analysis input.
• How to derive functions/formulas from graphs.
• How to interpret formulas and form conclusions.
• How to do an error analysis.
• How to write a formal lab report.

            Parts of a Lab Write-up:

• Abstract: brief summary, provides slightly more information than the title, allows people to scan to see if they are interested in your research without reading the entire article
• Purpose:  Why did you do the lab?  What were you looking for?    [For this lab, you can copy mine.  The purpose was defined by the assignment.]
• Procedure:  Tell how the lab was done.  Be specific so that someone far away could follow your procedure, avoid the same pitfalls, and obtain similar results.
• Data:  includes tables of raw data, calculations (all or samples) for “processed” data.  [For the skate board lab, processed data includes acceleration, unit conversions, friction corrections, force angle corrections, etc.]
• Analysis:  What does the data mean.  This section should include discussion, graphs, derived formulas, etc.
• Error analysis:  What are the possible sources of error?  Which of these were large enough errors to affect your results significantly?  What did you do about any of these?  What could or should you do about any sources of error in future investigations?
• Conclusion:  What do your results mean?  What new understandings do you have?  What new relationships (formulas) were discovered?
• Recommendations:  What implications are there from your results?  What should people do as a result of knowing your results?  What should be done in future attempts (to make similar measurements) in order to avoid errors that interfered with your results?  How could your procedure be improved in future investigations?

[---Lab 6 --no lab skill objectives---]

Lab  7 (power lab)

• How to graph and analyze observational data.
  

Lab 8 (circular motion lab)

• Deriving formulas from graphs for variables with exponents.