2.5: Appendix

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Bad Examples

Here are some examples showing good and bad practices in lab reports.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Here, the “Apparatus” and “Procedure” sections are lifted from the lab manual. The pictures are from the lab manual, which should be cited. The equipment list and assembly instructions are irrelevant; only the assembled apparatus ought to be described. The text should consist of complete paragraphs, not bullet-point lists.

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): This student has set aside a separate section for answering the lab manual’s question list. Instead, the questions should be addressed at relevant points in the lab report.

Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Here, the text in the lower box is too small to read. Any text appearing in a figure is assumed to be relevant, and should thus be legible; if the text is irrelevant, omit it. Also, the data points should have error bars.

Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): Here, three different data sets are plotted with indistinguishable lines; instead, different line types should be used, and clearly labelled. Also, the horizontal axis should have a proper title (text description and symbol, not just a unit). The vertical axis should have a text description, not just a symbol.