Lab report format

Lab reports must be typed, in 10, 11 or 12 pt font, preferably Courier or Helvetica. The report can be turned in or submitted electronically by email, but only in html or LaTeX form. No Word or WordPerfect documents will be accepted by email, only in hardcopy form.

Hard copies can be prepared in TeX or LaTeX. Here is a new standard LaTeX template LaTeX report that loads the RevTeX Physical REview Style file.

Paper should be A4 or 8.5 by 11 inches, with text width of 6 inches and text height of 9 inches. Pages must be numbered.

Each report must have a cover page with a title in bold, enlarged text. Each student prepares their own report. Group lab reports are not accepted. The title page contains the authors name. There must be an abstract of not less than 50 words, or more than 200. The date of the writing of the report, or its submission date, should appear on the title page.

All data must be presented in tabular form with appropriate units and labels at the top of each column. Data tables should be numbered, named, and centered on the page.

All graphs must be digitally drawn, using Gnuplot, libplot, Mathematica, SigmaPlot or some similar program. All graphs should have a title, and axes should be labeled. Data points must be connected or fit to a smooth curve. Data points should either have error bars, or be drawn as circles whose sizes reflect the error associated with the quantity being plotted.

There must be a labeled conclusion section, in which final calculations are presented along with any experimentally determined quantities and the associated errors. All results reported must be compared to accepted or true values.

There must be a proper bibliography if any book or paper is cited in the report.