Final Lab Report
You are required to write a complete laboratory report that
covers the drinking water quality experiment from “Lab 2: Water Quality
and ContaminationPreview the documentView in a new window,” using
knowledge gained throughout the course. Use the instructor feedback on your
Rough Draft from Week Three to guide your writing. Be sure to download theFinal
Lab Report TemplatePreview the documentView in a new window and utilizethis
form(not the Rough Draft template) to ensure proper formatting and inclusion of
all required material. Additionally, view theSample Final Lab ReportPreview the
documentView in a new windowbefore beginning this assignment, which will
illustrate what a Final Lab Report should look like. You must use at least two
scholarly sources, two other highly credible sources, and your lab manual to
support your points. The report must be six to ten pages in length (excluding
the title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style. For
information regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing
Center, located within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation
toolbar, in your online course.
The Final Lab Report must contain the following eight
sections in this order:
Title Page – This page must include the title of your
report, your name, course name, instructor, and date submitted.
Abstract – This section should provide a brief summary of
the methods, results, and conclusions. It should allow the reader to see what
was done, how it was done, and the results. It should not exceed 200 words and
should be the last part written (although it should still appear right after
the title page).
Introduction – This section should include background
information on water quality and an overview of why the experiment was
conducted. It should first contain background information of similar studies
previously conducted. This is accomplished by citing existing literature from
similar experiments. Secondly, it should provide an objective or a reason why
the experiment is being done. Why do we want to know the answer to the question
we are asking? Finally, it should end the hypothesis from your Week Two
experiment, and the reasoning behind your hypothesis. This hypothesis should
not be adjusted to reflect the “right” answer. Simply place your
previous hypothesis in the report here. You do not lose points for an
inaccurate hypothesis; scientists often revise their hypotheses based on
scientific evidence following the experiments.
Materials and Methods – This section should provide a
detailed description of the materials used in your experiment and how they were
used. A step-by-step rundown of your experiment is necessary; however, it
should be done in paragraph form, not in a list format. The description should
be exact enough to allow for someone reading the report to replicate the
experiment, however, it should be in your own words and not simply copied and
pasted from the lab manual.
Results – This section should include the data and
observations from the experiment. All tables and graphs should be present in
this section. In addition to the tables, you must describe the data in text;
however, there should benopersonal opinions or discussion outside of the
results located within this area.
Discussion – This section should interpret your data and
provide conclusions. Discuss the meanings of your findings in this area. Was
your hypothesis accepted or rejected, and how were you able to determine this?
Did the results generate any future questions that might benefit from a new
experiment? Were there any outside factors (i.e., temperature, contaminants,
time of day) that affected your results? If so, how could you control for these
in the future?
Conclusions – This section should provide a brief summary of
your work.
References – List references used in APA format as outlined
in the Ashford Writing Center





