Lab Notebooks/Portfolios
Adapted from the AP Biology Lab Manual
Lab Notebooks/Portfolios
A lab notebook allows you to organize your work so that you have the information for a more formal report. Your lab notebook should contain the information necessary for making a formal report, which may include a prelab experimental outline with the following information:
• Members of work group
• Primary question for investigation
• Background observations and contextual information
• Hypothesis and rationale for the investigation
• Experimental design — strategies for testing hypothesis, using appropriate controls and variables
• Materials required
• Safety issues
• Procedure in sufficient detail so that someone could replicate your results
In addition, your lab notebook should contain the following:
• Results, including graphs, tables, drawings or diagrams, and statistical analysis
• Conclusion and discussion — Was the hypothesis supported? What additional questions remain for further investigation?
• References
A lab portfolio might contain finished lab reports, notes on individual projects, library research, essays, excerpts from exams, and reflections on particular lab experiences and the problems that were encountered, as well as connections with other parts of the course, or a combination of these elements. Portfolios provide a means for students to monitor their progress over an extended period.
Lab Notebooks/Portfolios
A lab notebook allows you to organize your work so that you have the information for a more formal report. Your lab notebook should contain the information necessary for making a formal report, which may include a prelab experimental outline with the following information:
• Members of work group
• Primary question for investigation
• Background observations and contextual information
• Hypothesis and rationale for the investigation
• Experimental design — strategies for testing hypothesis, using appropriate controls and variables
• Materials required
• Safety issues
• Procedure in sufficient detail so that someone could replicate your results
In addition, your lab notebook should contain the following:
• Results, including graphs, tables, drawings or diagrams, and statistical analysis
• Conclusion and discussion — Was the hypothesis supported? What additional questions remain for further investigation?
• References
A lab portfolio might contain finished lab reports, notes on individual projects, library research, essays, excerpts from exams, and reflections on particular lab experiences and the problems that were encountered, as well as connections with other parts of the course, or a combination of these elements. Portfolios provide a means for students to monitor their progress over an extended period.