how to write a formal lab report hypothesis

Research Hypothesis Example 1 The greater number of coal plants in a region (independent variable) increases water pollution (dependent variable). If you change the independent variable (building more coal factories), it will change the dependent variable (amount of water pollution).

Research Hypothesis Example 2 What is the effect of diet or regular soda (independent variable) on blood sugar levels (dependent variable)? If you change the independent variable (the type of soda you consume), it will change the dependent variable (blood sugar levels)

You should not ignore the importance of the above steps. The validity of your experiment and its results rely on a robust testable hypothesis. Developing a strong testable hypothesis has few advantages, it compels us to think intensely and specifically about the outcomes of a study. Consequently, it enables us to understand the implication of the question and the different variables involved in the study. Furthermore, it helps us to make precise predictions based on prior research. Hence, forming a hypothesis would be of great value to the research. Here are some good examples of testable hypotheses.

More importantly, you need to build a robust testable research hypothesis for your scientific experiments. A testable hypothesis is a hypothesis that can be proved or disproved as a result of experimentation.

Importance of a Testable Hypothesis

To devise and perform an experiment using scientific method, you need to make sure that your hypothesis is testable. To be considered testable, some essential criteria must be met:

Without these criteria, the hypothesis and the results will be vague. As a result, the experiment will not prove or disprove anything significant.

What are your experiences with building hypotheses for scientific experiments? What challenges did you face? How did you overcome these challenges? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section.

Wow! You really simplified your explanation that even dummies would find it easy to comprehend. Thank you so much.

Thanks a lot for your valuable guidance.

I enjoy reading the post. Hypotheses are actually an intrinsic part in a study. It bridges the research question and the methodology of the study.

Useful piece!

This is awesome.Wow.

It very interesting to read the topic, can you guide me any specific example of hypothesis process establish throw the Demand and supply of the specific product in market

Nicely explained

It is really a useful for me Kindly give some examples of hypothesis

It was a well explained content ,can you please give me an example with the null and alternative hypothesis illustrated

clear and concise. thanks.

So Good so Amazing

Good to learn

Thanks a lot for explaining to my level of understanding

Rate this article Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Enago Academy's Most Popular

Facing Difficulty Writing an Academic Essay? — Here is your one-stop solution!

Academic writing is an important aspect of higher education, as it helps to develop critical…

Bridging the Gap: Overcome these 7 flaws in descriptive research design

Descriptive research design is a powerful tool used by scientists and researchers to gather information…

Inductive and Deductive Reasoning — Strategic approach for conducting research

Karl questioned his research approach before finalizing the hypothesis of his research study. He laid…

Effective Data Presentation for Submission in Top-tier Journals

Importance of presenting research data effectively How to create tables and figures How to avoid…

Language & Grammar

What Makes a Thesis Statement Spectacular? — 5 things to know

What Is a Thesis Statement? A thesis statement is a declarative sentence that states the…

Sign-up to read more

Subscribe for free to get unrestricted access to all our resources on research writing and academic publishing including:

We hate spam too. We promise to protect your privacy and never spam you.

I am looking for Editing/ Proofreading services for my manuscript Tentative date of next journal submission:

For what are you most likely to depend on AI-assistance?

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

How To Write A Lab Report | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples

Published on May 20, 2021 by Pritha Bhandari . Revised on July 15, 2022.

A lab report conveys the aim, methods, results, and conclusions of a scientific experiment. The main purpose of a lab report is to demonstrate your understanding of the scientific method by performing and evaluating a hands-on lab experiment. This type of assignment is usually shorter than a research paper .

Lab reports are commonly used in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. This article focuses on how to structure and write a lab report.

Structuring a lab report, introduction, frequently asked questions about lab reports.

The sections of a lab report can vary between scientific fields and course requirements, but they usually contain the purpose, methods, and findings of a lab experiment .

Each section of a lab report has its own purpose.

Although most lab reports contain these sections, some sections can be omitted or combined with others. For example, some lab reports contain a brief section on research aims instead of an introduction, and a separate conclusion is not always required.

If you’re not sure, it’s best to check your lab report requirements with your instructor.

Your title provides the first impression of your lab report – effective titles communicate the topic and/or the findings of your study in specific terms.

Create a title that directly conveys the main focus or purpose of your study. It doesn’t need to be creative or thought-provoking, but it should be informative.

Check for common mistakes

Use the best grammar checker available to check for common mistakes in your text.

Fix mistakes for free

An abstract condenses a lab report into a brief overview of about 150–300 words. It should provide readers with a compact version of the research aims, the methods and materials used, the main results, and the final conclusion.

Think of it as a way of giving readers a preview of your full lab report. Write the abstract last, in the past tense, after you’ve drafted all the other sections of your report, so you’ll be able to succinctly summarize each section.

To write a lab report abstract, use these guiding questions:

Nitrogen is a necessary nutrient for high quality plants. Tomatoes, one of the most consumed fruits worldwide, rely on nitrogen for healthy leaves and stems to grow fruit. This experiment tested whether nitrogen levels affected tomato plant height in a controlled setting. It was expected that higher levels of nitrogen fertilizer would yield taller tomato plants.

Levels of nitrogen fertilizer were varied between three groups of tomato plants. The control group did not receive any nitrogen fertilizer, while one experimental group received low levels of nitrogen fertilizer, and a second experimental group received high levels of nitrogen fertilizer. All plants were grown from seeds, and heights were measured 50 days into the experiment.

The effects of nitrogen levels on plant height were tested between groups using an ANOVA. The plants with the highest level of nitrogen fertilizer were the tallest, while the plants with low levels of nitrogen exceeded the control group plants in height. In line with expectations and previous findings, the effects of nitrogen levels on plant height were statistically significant. This study strengthens the importance of nitrogen for tomato plants.

Your lab report introduction should set the scene for your experiment. One way to write your introduction is with a funnel (an inverted triangle) structure:

Begin by providing background information on your research topic and explaining why it’s important in a broad real-world or theoretical context. Describe relevant previous research on your topic and note how your study may confirm it or expand it, or fill a gap in the research field.

This lab experiment builds on previous research from Haque, Paul, and Sarker (2011), who demonstrated that tomato plant yield increased at higher levels of nitrogen. However, the present research focuses on plant height as a growth indicator and uses a lab-controlled setting instead.

Next, go into detail on the theoretical basis for your study and describe any directly relevant laws or equations that you’ll be using. State your main research aims and expectations by outlining your hypotheses .

Based on the importance of nitrogen for tomato plants, the primary hypothesis was that the plants with the high levels of nitrogen would grow the tallest. The secondary hypothesis was that plants with low levels of nitrogen would grow taller than plants with no nitrogen.

Your introduction doesn’t need to be long, but you may need to organize it into a few paragraphs or with subheadings such as “Research Context” or “Research Aims.”

A lab report Method section details the steps you took to gather and analyze data. Give enough detail so that others can follow or evaluate your procedures. Write this section in the past tense. If you need to include any long lists of procedural steps or materials, place them in the Appendices section but refer to them in the text here.

You should describe your experimental design, your subjects, materials, and specific procedures used for data collection and analysis.

Experimental design

Briefly note whether your experiment is a within-subjects or between-subjects design, and describe how your sample units were assigned to conditions if relevant.

A between-subjects design with three groups of tomato plants was used. The control group did not receive any nitrogen fertilizer. The first experimental group received a low level of nitrogen fertilizer, while the second experimental group received a high level of nitrogen fertilizer.

Describe human subjects in terms of demographic characteristics, and animal or plant subjects in terms of genetic background. Note the total number of subjects as well as the number of subjects per condition or per group. You should also state how you recruited subjects for your study.

List the equipment or materials you used to gather data and state the model names for any specialized equipment.

List of materials

35 Tomato seeds

15 plant pots (15 cm tall)

Light lamps (50,000 lux)

Nitrogen fertilizer

Measuring tape

Describe your experimental settings and conditions in detail. You can provide labelled diagrams or images of the exact set-up necessary for experimental equipment. State how extraneous variables were controlled through restriction or by fixing them at a certain level (e.g., keeping the lab at room temperature).

Light levels were fixed throughout the experiment, and the plants were exposed to 12 hours of light a day. Temperature was restricted to between 23 and 25℃. The pH and carbon levels of the soil were also held constant throughout the experiment as these variables could influence plant height. The plants were grown in rooms free of insects or other pests, and they were spaced out adequately.

Your experimental procedure should describe the exact steps you took to gather data in chronological order. You’ll need to provide enough information so that someone else can replicate your procedure, but you should also be concise. Place detailed information in the appendices where appropriate.

In a lab experiment, you’ll often closely follow a lab manual to gather data. Some instructors will allow you to simply reference the manual and state whether you changed any steps based on practical considerations. Other instructors may want you to rewrite the lab manual procedures as complete sentences in coherent paragraphs, while noting any changes to the steps that you applied in practice.

If you’re performing extensive data analysis, be sure to state your planned analysis methods as well. This includes the types of tests you’ll perform and any programs or software you’ll use for calculations (if relevant).

First, tomato seeds were sown in wooden flats containing soil about 2 cm below the surface. Each seed was kept 3-5 cm apart. The flats were covered to keep the soil moist until germination. The seedlings were removed and transplanted to pots 8 days later, with a maximum of 2 plants to a pot. Each pot was watered once a day to keep the soil moist.

The nitrogen fertilizer treatment was applied to the plant pots 12 days after transplantation. The control group received no treatment, while the first experimental group received a low concentration, and the second experimental group received a high concentration. There were 5 pots in each group, and each plant pot was labelled to indicate the group the plants belonged to.

50 days after the start of the experiment, plant height was measured for all plants. A measuring tape was used to record the length of the plant from ground level to the top of the tallest leaf.

In your results section, you should report the results of any statistical analysis procedures that you undertook. You should clearly state how the results of statistical tests support or refute your initial hypotheses.

The main results to report include:

The mean heights of the plants in the control group, low nitrogen group, and high nitrogen groups were 20.3, 25.1, and 29.6 cm respectively. A one-way ANOVA was applied to calculate the effect of nitrogen fertilizer level on plant height. The results demonstrated statistically significant ( p = .03) height differences between groups.

Next, post-hoc tests were performed to assess the primary and secondary hypotheses. In support of the primary hypothesis, the high nitrogen group plants were significantly taller than the low nitrogen group and the control group plants. Similarly, the results supported the secondary hypothesis: the low nitrogen plants were taller than the control group plants.

These results can be reported in the text or in tables and figures. Use text for highlighting a few key results, but present large sets of numbers in tables, or show relationships between variables with graphs.

You should also include sample calculations in the Results section for complex experiments. For each sample calculation, provide a brief description of what it does and use clear symbols. Present your raw data in the Appendices section and refer to it to highlight any outliers or trends.

The Discussion section will help demonstrate your understanding of the experimental process and your critical thinking skills.

In this section, you can:

Interpreting your results involves clarifying how your results help you answer your main research question. Report whether your results support your hypotheses.

Compare your findings with other research and explain any key differences in findings.

Are your results in line with those from previous studies or your classmates’ results? Why or why not?

An effective Discussion section will also highlight the strengths and limitations of a study.

When describing limitations, use specific examples. For example, if random error contributed substantially to the measurements in your study, state the particular sources of error (e.g., imprecise apparatus) and explain ways to improve them.

The results support the hypothesis that nitrogen levels affect plant height, with increasing levels producing taller plants. These statistically significant results are taken together with previous research to support the importance of nitrogen as a nutrient for tomato plant growth.

However, unlike previous studies, this study focused on plant height as an indicator of plant growth in the present experiment. Importantly, plant height may not always reflect plant health or fruit yield, so measuring other indicators would have strengthened the study findings.

Another limitation of the study is the plant height measurement technique, as the measuring tape was not suitable for plants with extreme curvature. Future studies may focus on measuring plant height in different ways.

The main strengths of this study were the controls for extraneous variables, such as pH and carbon levels of the soil. All other factors that could affect plant height were tightly controlled to isolate the effects of nitrogen levels, resulting in high internal validity for this study.

Your conclusion should be the final section of your lab report. Here, you’ll summarize the findings of your experiment, with a brief overview of the strengths and limitations, and implications of your study for further research.

Some lab reports may omit a Conclusion section because it overlaps with the Discussion section, but you should check with your instructor before doing so.

A lab report conveys the aim, methods, results, and conclusions of a scientific experiment . Lab reports are commonly assigned in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

The purpose of a lab report is to demonstrate your understanding of the scientific method with a hands-on lab experiment. Course instructors will often provide you with an experimental design and procedure. Your task is to write up how you actually performed the experiment and evaluate the outcome.

In contrast, a research paper requires you to independently develop an original argument. It involves more in-depth research and interpretation of sources and data.

A lab report is usually shorter than a research paper.

The sections of a lab report can vary between scientific fields and course requirements, but it usually contains the following:

The results chapter or section simply and objectively reports what you found, without speculating on why you found these results. The discussion interprets the meaning of the results, puts them in context, and explains why they matter.

In qualitative research , results and discussion are sometimes combined. But in quantitative research , it’s considered important to separate the objective results from your interpretation of them.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Bhandari, P. (2022, July 15). How To Write A Lab Report | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-writing/lab-report/

Is this article helpful?

Pritha Bhandari

Other students also liked, guide to experimental design | overview, steps, & examples, how to write an apa methods section, how to write an apa results section, what is your plagiarism score.

Formatting a testable hypothesis

What Is a Real Hypothesis?

A hypothesis is a tentative statement that proposes a possible explanation to some phenomenon or event. A useful hypothesis is a testable statement, which may include a prediction. A hypothesis should not be confused with a theory. Theories are general explanations based on a large amount of data. For example, the theory of evolution applies to all living things and is based on wide range of observations. However, there are many things about evolution that are not fully understood such as gaps in the fossil record. Many hypotheses have been proposed and tested.

When Are Hypotheses Used?

The key word is testable . That is, you will perform a test of how two variables might be related. This is when you are doing a real experiment. You are testing variables. Usually, a hypothesis is based on some previous observation such as noticing that in November many trees undergo color changes in their leaves and the average daily temperatures are dropping. Are these two events connected? How?

Any laboratory procedure you follow without a hypothesis is really not an experiment. It is just an exercise or demonstration of what is already known.

How Are Hypotheses Written?

All of these are examples of hypotheses because they use the tentative word "may”. However, their form is not particularly useful. Using the word “may” does not suggest how you would go about providing supporting evidence for the hypothesis. If these statements had not been written carefully, they may not have even been hypotheses at all. For example, if we say "Trees will change color when it gets cold." we are making a prediction. Or if we write, "Ultraviolet light causes skin cancer." could be a conclusion. One way to prevent making such easy mistakes is to formalize the form of the hypothesis.

Formalized Hypotheses example: If skin cancer is related to ultraviolet light , then people with a high exposure to uv light will have a higher frequency of skin cancer .

If leaf color change is related to temperature , then exposing plants to low temperatures will result in changes in leaf color.

Notice that these statements contain the words , if and then . They are necessary in a formalized hypothesis. But not all if-then statements are hypotheses. For example, "If I play the lottery, then I will get rich." This is a simple prediction. In a formalized hypothesis, a tentative relationship is stated. For example, if the frequency of winning is related to frequency of buying lottery tickets. "Then" is followed by a prediction of what will happen if you increase or decrease the frequency of buying lottery tickets. If you always ask yourself that if one thing is related to another, then you should be able to test it.

Formalized hypotheses contain two variables. One is "independent" and the other is "dependent." The independent variable is the one you, the "scientist" control and the dependent variable is the one that you observe and/or measure the results

The ultimate value of a formalized hypothesis is it forces us to think about what results we should look for in an experiment.

Notice there are two parts to a formalized hypothesis: the “if” portion contains the testable proposed relationship and the “then” portion is the prediction of expected results from an experiment. An acceptable hypothesis contains both aspects, not just the prediction portion.

Investigation 1: Conducting a Biological Experiment

Purpose : to learn how to use the scientific method by conducting an experiment.

You have learned so far that scientists use the "scientific method" in solving problems. Although there is no set order to the sequence, a scientific investigation may include some or all of the following activities; literature search, stating the problem, writing a hypothesis, designing an experiment, collecting data/observation, verification, graphing data, interpreting data, and forming a conclusion.

For today’s experiment you will develop a formalized hypothesis based upon the part II experiment of the lab exercise on page 5 of the lab manual (including both testable relationship and prediction). Each lab group will Set-up both experiments; pages 4 and 5 of the lab manual. During the next week each lab group will collect data in tables . Once the data is collected your group will have to summarize the data and represent the results using a table and figure.

Step 1: Introduction material before beginning an experiment.

Refer to page 4 of your lab manual for a description of the experiment. Notice that page 4 includes introductory information that explains the underlying hypothesis of spontaneous generation.

A. State the Problem (this is usually a general question but often does not include a proposed relationship)

What is the general question addressed by Procedure 1?

(notice this is not a formalized hypothesis; it does not contain any information to identify the independent or dependent variable. This step is not included in a formal lab report introduction section.)

B. Literature Search (this section is required to explain the reason for a proposed relationship [the hypothesis])

What background information is required to explain your formalized hypothesis? For the formal lab report you need to find appropriate cited sources to support your hypothesis. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

, c. writing a hypothesis, procedure 1 page 4 of the lab manual.

Read the procedure on page 4 of the lab manual to determine the independent and dependent variables . Write a formalized hypothesis. Include the dependent and independent variables.

Procedure 2 page 5 of the lab manual

Read procedure II on page 5 of the lab manual to determine the independent and dependent variables . Write a formalized hypothesis. Include the dependent and independent variables.

1. Are the independent and dependent variables the same for both procedures?

2. Are the hypotheses for procedure 1 and procedure II the same?

If not what relationship does procedure II test?

Experimental Design: Follow the instructions on page 4 and 5 of your lab manual.

The following tables are meant to aid in collecting the raw experimental data. Do not use these tables in the final lab report; follow the example table in the handout on how to write a results section.

*Note this is not the final table to use in your formal lab report.

Data/Observations

Table 1. Time – series data for your own group. Record the dependent variable each assigned day.

Procedure 1: Dependent variable?_________________________

Table 2. Time – series data for your own group. Record the dependent variable each assigned day. Each group must have a sediment score for each treatment for four days; this data will be used to generate a time-series graph for the lab report.

Procedure 2 Dependent variable=__ Sediment Score _

Interpretations and Conclusions

Check the class standard flasks for the sediment scale:

During next week’s lab each group will present their results and fill in a class data table, see below. The class data table is the data that must be used for the Chi-square test in your lab report.

Table 3. Bio 100 class data for Procedure II, page 5 of the lab manual. The sediment scores are based upon the score assigned to each flask on day 5. n= 6.

IMAGES

how write a lab report
Lab Report Template
Sample Lab Report intended for Introduction Template For Report
😂 Lab report introduction example. How To Write A Lab Report. 2019-02-28
How to write a psychology lab report results
001 Biology Lab Report Template Ideas Surprising Word Sample For Lab Report Template Word

VIDEO

2580 E Selah Rd
Facts about Whales
screen 20220610 134209
RESEARCH QUESTION AND HYPOTHESES
B Research Hypothesis FINER Criteria
class 10#english#jacboardjharkhand #letterwriting

COMMENTS

How to Write Hypothesis for Lab Report
Formalized hypotheses contain two variables. One is “independent” and the other is “dependent.” The independent variable is the one you, the “scientist” control
Biology Lab Report Sample
____References or examples to support all statements of fact or opinion. The hypothesis is what you propose will happen in the experiment.
How To Write A Lab Report
Writing Lab Reports · Why was the research done or experiment conducted? · What problem is being addressed? · What results were found? · What are
laboratory reports
The second part of your Introduction is a statement of your hypothesis(es). Hypotheses are educated guesses that you propose as a tentative answer to the
How to Write a Lab Report
In one sentence, state the hypothesis. Sometimes an introduction may contain background information, briefly summarize how the experiment was
How to Write a Research Hypothesis| Enago Academy
1. State the problem that you are trying to solve. · 2. Try to write the hypothesis as an if-then statement. · 3. Define the variables · 4. Scrutinize the
Lab report hypothesis sections
Description of how to write a hypothesis for a lab report.
Writing a Formal Lab Report
o Be prepared for the lab. Before coming to the lab session, read the procedure in the lab manual thoroughly. Write down a purpose, hypothesis, and a general
How To Write A Lab Report
Your conclusion should be the final section of your lab report. Here, you'll summarize the findings of your experiment, with a brief overview of
Formatting a testable hypothesis
But not all if-then statements are hypotheses. For example, "If I play the lottery, then I will get rich." This is a simple prediction. In a formalized