NYU Tandon School of Engineering General Physics Laboratory

General Physics Laboratory

Lab Report Format
Laboratory reports should be brief but must be clear. Your report should be written in such a way that someone
who has knowledge of physics, but no knowledge of the experiment performed, would be able to understand what
you did and what you learned. You are required to use MS (Microsoft) Excel and MS Word software to prepare
your report. If you need to improve your skills in MS Excel, study the manual “Microsoft Excel” that is a part of
the course material.
You will be submitting your reports via Brightspace web portal. A laboratory report must be a single MS
Word file entitled “Last name, First name, netID_section_Exp_#.”
The report must start with a title page that should contain your name, section number, course and experiment
number, the date of experiment, and partner’s name if applicable. The following pages must include the
subsequent sections: “Objectives”, “Method” “Analysis”, “Results” and “Conclusion”.

1. Objectives
Briefly, in one or two sentences, specify objectives for parts A and B of the experiment. Do not copy from
the manual but rather use your own words and explain the objectives as you understand them.

2. Method
In this section, present the way how do you reach the objectives. That is, explain what you measured and
show the theoretical model for the experiment that is formulas that connect the measured entities to the objectives.
Do not show formulas that are not used in calculations and do not copy general theoretical background from the
manual. You must however explain all notations in the equations. This part typically does not exceed half a
page.

In the following example, an introduction and method parts of the report are shown for an experiment where
a simple pendulum was used to determine the acceleration due to gravity.
EXAMPLE:
1. Objectives
In part B of this experiment, the objective is to obtain a value of the acceleration due to gravity, g, using a simple
pendulum.

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2. Method
The pendulum is assumed to be a simple mathematical pendulum, that is, it is modeled as point mass connected to a
fixed point by a massless string, and the angular amplitude of the oscillation does not exceed a few degrees. In such a model,
the acceleration due to gravity is:

4π2 L
g=
T2

In this experiment, the period of the pendulum oscillation (T) and the length of the pendulum (L) are measured, and g
is calculated using the above formula.

3. Analysis
Typically, the experiment consists of two parts, A and B, hence your report should contain two parts called
respectively, e.g. "Part A Analysis" and "Part B Analysis." The analyses must be done separately for each
experimental part. Each part (A or B) will contain three subparts: Initial data; Best estimate value; Error
evaluation.
3.1 Initial Data
Plug raw data from data sheet you obtained in the experiment into the template that would provide you the
calculations and plots required to reach the objectives. The template typically consists of three sheets named Raw
Data, Part A and Part B respectively. From the Raw Data sheet of the template, copy the raw data for specific part
of the experiment (e.g. Part A or Part B) here.
EXAMPLE:

Part B: Pendulum

Short pendulum:
Instrument
Length, cm uncertainty, cm
33.044 0.05
Cycle # Period, s
1 1.155
2 1.156
3 1.153
4 1.156
5 2.154
6 1.154
7 1.155
8 1.155
9 1.154
10 1.154

Medium pendulum:

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Instrument
Length, cm uncertainty, cm
54.394 0.05
Cycle # Period, s
1 1.48
2 1.477
3 1.48
4 1.48
5 1.479
6 1.478
7 1.48
8 1.479
9 1.479
10 1.479

Long Pendulum
Instrument
Length, cm uncertainty, cm
79.081 0.05
Cycle # Period, s
1 1.783
2 1.783
3 1.783
4 1.783
5 1.783
6 1.782
7 1.783
8 1.784
9 1.782
10 1.784

If, in further analysis, you found a blunder or obvious systematic error in the initial data that can be corrected,
explain the reason for the blunder, and correction to the Raw Data sheet in the template, and run the template
again. Copy the corrected initial data table in this section. Highlight in the corrected table the values that have
been altered, and provide an explanation for the corrections, as in the following example:
EXAMPLE:
For trial 5 of the short pendulum, there is an obvious error, the first digit should be “1”. The error may have
occurred when entering the value on the computer screen. I corrected trial 5 manually accounting for the blunder
(highlighted yellow in the table below). The calculation in the template was made using the corrected raw data
table for part B.

Part B: Pendulum

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Short pendulum:
Instrument
Length, cm uncertainty, cm
33.044 0.05
Cycle # Period, s
1 1.155
2 1.156
3 1.153
4 1.156
5 1.154
6 1.154
7 1.155
8 1.155
9 1.154
10 1.154

Medium pendulum:
Instrument
Length, cm uncertainty, cm
54.394 0.05
Cycle # Period, s
1 1.48
2 1.477
3 1.48
4 1.48
5 1.479
6 1.478
7 1.48
8 1.479
9 1.479
10 1.479

Long Pendulum
Instrument
Length, cm uncertainty, cm
79.081 0.05
Cycle # Period, s
1 1.783
2 1.783
3 1.783
4 1.783
5 1.783
6 1.782
7 1.783
8 1.784
9 1.782
10 1.784

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3.2 Best Estimate Value(s)

Use the part of the template that calculates the best estimate value (BEV) to create this part of the report.
Specifically:
1. Copy each line of calculation from the template .
2. For each calculation, in the formula line, using the equation editor of MS Word, add a “sample calculation”
i.e. the formula where all the letters are replaced with their values taken either from the data file or the
prior calculations. If the measurements were repeated for multiple trials, show detailed computation for
only one trial using proper units. Highlight the result that corresponds to the sample calculation with
different color as in the example below.
3. Also, accompany each calculation with an explanation.
4. There is no need to show formulas and sample calculation for values found by statistical functions of MS
Excel (average; standard deviation; trendline slope, intercepts and uncertainties found by the LINEST
function).
EXAMPLE:

Best Estimate Value

−𝟐 𝑳 𝟑𝟑.𝟎𝟒𝟒 𝒄𝒎
𝐠, 𝐜𝐦 𝐬 = 𝟒𝝅𝟐 = 𝟒𝝅𝟐 (𝟏.𝟐𝟒𝟎𝟔𝟎 𝒔)𝟐 = 978.567
𝑻𝟐 981.568 982.040

Best estimate value for acceleration due to gravity, g, is found using the measured value of the pendulum length and the
mean value of the period measurements.
−𝟐
BEV for acceleration due to gravity is: 𝐠 =978.567 𝐜𝐦 𝐬

5. Plots: You should also include any relevant graphs in this section. Every graph should be accompanied
by a table of the plotted data and “LINEST” results, if applicable. Explain each value of the LINEST data
used in calculations.

2.3 Error Evaluation

Similar rules are applied to error evaluation. Copy the corresponding parts of the template, and highlight the
template calculations for the components of the BEV uncertainty (such as ∆g𝐿 and ∆g𝑇 in the considered example).
Observe, which uncertainty component provides the largest contribution to the total uncertainty and present a
sample calculation for this uncertainty component only. Do not show sample calculations for other components

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or the total uncertainty. Report the total uncertainty explicitly and provide explanations as in the example below,
where the uncertainty due to the measurement of the period, ∆g𝑇 , is greatest.

EXAMPLE
−2 ∆𝐿
∆g𝐿 , cm s , = 4𝜋 2 = 1.480698 0.902266 0.620908
𝑇2

−2 𝐿 ∆𝑇 𝟑𝟑.𝟎𝟒𝟒 𝒄𝒎∗𝟎.𝟎𝟎𝟏𝟎𝟓 𝒔 1.77241 1.39131 1.12577

∆g𝑇 , cm s , = 8𝜋 2
𝑇3
= 𝟒𝝅𝟐 =
(𝟏.𝟐𝟒𝟎𝟔𝟎 𝒔)𝟑

∆𝐠, 𝐜𝐦 𝐬 −𝟐 = √∆𝐠𝟐𝐋 + ∆𝐠𝟐𝐓 = √(1.480698)2 + (1.77241)2 = 2.30952 1.65826 1.28565

Total uncertainty of acceleration due to gravity is: 𝐠 = 𝟐. 𝟑𝟎𝟗𝟓𝟐 𝐜𝐦 𝐬 −𝟐

The uncertainty for the acceleration comes from two sources: uncertainty in length and uncertainty in period
measurements. Each this uncertainty is found using a formula derived from the formula for BEV (above) using the error
propagation procedure. The uncertainty due to period measurement is found to be greater (albeit not significantly) than the
uncertainty due to length measurement. The total uncertainty in g is calculated by adding the uncertainty according to the
rule of uncertainty addition as explained in Error Analysis manual.

3. Final Results
This section includes a concise and clear presentation of final results, for both parts of the experiment. Do not
present results of intermediate calculations here but only those found as best estimate values in parts A and B,
with their uncertainties.
Remember, the result is not a single value but rather a range of possible values , which is represented by the
best estimate value ± its uncertainty. Also, you must report only properly rounded values for the BEVs, absolute
and fractional uncertainties (see rounding rules in the section 1.6 Reporting Results of the Error Analysis manual):
EXAMPLE:
Acceleration due to gravity is found as:
𝑚 ∆𝑔
𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝐿1 = 38.15 𝑐𝑚, 𝑔 = (9.786 ± 0.023) ; = 0.21%
𝑠2 𝑔
𝑚 ∆𝑔
𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝐿2 = 59.85 𝑐𝑚, 𝑔 = (9.816 ± 0.017) ; = 0.16%
𝑠2 𝑔
𝑚 ∆𝑔
𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝐿3 = 99.85 𝑐𝑚, 𝑔 = (9.820 ± 0.013) ; = 0.12%
𝑠2 𝑔

4. Conclusion
This is the most valuable part of your report. Here is the place in your report where you compare the results
with your expectations and provide a plausible explanation if the results deviate from the expected values. In
many experiments, you need to provide Comparison Charts that graphically represent your results and their

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ranges of possible values. The specific technique of making comparison charts and examples of those are found
in the “Microsoft Excel” course manual.

In addition you must discuss the accuracy and precision of your results. Please refer to the Error
Analysis manual if you need help in understanding of these concepts.
Also, discuss which uncertainty component(s) are dominant, or which measurement provided the greatest
error. Speculate how this measurement could be made more precise, and how that may be reflected in the precision
of your result.
Conclusion is the last section as well as a very important section of the report where you provide your own
judgment about experimental technique, observed discrepancies, and your own performance.
EXAMPLE:
In this experiment we have measured acceleration due to gravity using a simple pendulum. The acceleration was measured
separately for three different lengths of the pendulum. The following Comparison Chart gives the ranges of possible values
(the best estimate values and their uncertainties as error bars). The red dot represents the expected value of g = 9.81±0.01
ms-2.

Acceleration due to gravity, ms-2

9.84
9.83
9.82
9.81
9.8
9.79
9.78
9.77
9.76
9.75
9.74
g1 g2 g3 Expected

The results of each measurement are sufficiently precise, since the fractional uncertainty in each case is well below 10%
that is acceptable level of precision in Physics laboratory. The uncertainty is lowest for the long pendulum that leads to the
conclusion that as long as possible pendulum should be used for such a measurement.
The results for all three pendulum lengths are also accurate since their ranges of possible values overlap the range for
the expected value.
The shortest length (g1) is however the least accurate and precise measurement. This is expected since the systematic
error increases with the angle of pendulum oscillation. The model function works only for small (less that approximately 5
degrees) angles of oscillation which is difficult to achive for short pendulum lengths. Another factor that may have led to

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the discrepancy between the expected value and obtained result is a possible blunder during the measurement. For the
shortest length, the measurement of the length may have been done incorrectly.
Overall, the pendulum seems to be a simple but reliable method for measurement of the acceleration due to gravity. It
requires minimum equipment and only two basic measurements, length and time.This could be easily done in the laboratory
or in the field.

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