ELEC 242 Lab

Chapter 3

Lab Reports

After each lab you will write a report summarizing what was accomplished and how it fits into the grand plan. This chapter describes what it should look like and what it should contain.

Format

Prepare your report on letter size paper with the pages stapled or otherwise securely held together. It may be word processed or handwritten, whichever you prefer, as long as it's legible. The first page should begin with a heading containing the course number, lab number, and the names of all group members. All subsequent pages should be numbered. If you need to include diagrams, graphs, or tables that are difficult to incorporate electronically, you may use a separate page or glue or tape them in place.

Note that although this is an Engineering, rather than an English, course, you will be expected to provide at least a basic narrative structure to your writing. I.e. there should be sentences and the occasional paragraph interspersed among the equations, numbers, and drawings. The prose which forms that narrative should be gramatically and orthographically correct.

Content

Your report should consist of the following three sections
  1. Work in the lab.
    Briefly describe the work you did in the lab and present the data that you collected. You do not need to provide step by step commentary, but include a properly labeled diagram for each circuit that you constructed. Include the data from each measurement or set of measurements in a table or graph as appropriate.

    Your presentation should follow the guidelines for the "During Lab" section of the notebook. but should be more organized and more succinct. Show equations and results when asked to "compute" a value.

    There are two types of questions in the lab handout: numbered questions (labeled "Question 1:", etc) and the "in-line" questions that are interspersed with the description of the procedure (e.g. "Did the bulb light?", "What was the current?"). Answer the inline questions at the appropriate points in your narrative. Be sure to identify them in such a way that it is clear which question you are answering. (E.g. "Yes" and "300 mA" are not satisfactory answers. "The bulb lit" and " $I_1 = 300\rm mA$ " are.) The numbered questions have their own section in the report, so save them for later.

  2. Summary, Conclusions, and Analysis.
    Describe how well the goals set out in the Introduction were realized. Summarize the tools and techniques developed in this Lab. How well was the material presented in the Background section successfully illustrated and expanded by the work in the lab? Were there any surprises, unexpected results, or anomalous behavior?

    Don't just say: "We did A, B, and C, and Ohm's Law works," tie it all together. Think of yourself as a Pulitzer prize winning journalist: you've gathered the news (in the previous section), now you're telling your readers what it means: "A, B, and C represent different techniques for measuring circuit variables, each having a different range of applicability:.... Ohm's law is handy if you're stranded on a desert island without an ammeter."

    Keep in mind the purpose of these labs. We're not trying to verify the laws of physics. We're trying to learn techniques and gain insight into how electronic circuits and systems work and the kinds of things we might be able to do with them. However, if you do get a result which appears to contradict the laws of physics, try to figure out why.

  3. Numbered Questions.
    The numbered questions are expected to require some thought or analysis so they get a section of the report to themselves. These don't always have a unique correct answer; sometimes they ask for your evaluation or comments. In either case, give some indication why you chose the answer you did.

Grading

Your lab report will be graded by your labbie, based on the evaluation form shown in this link. Your report is due one week from the scheduled date of the corresponding lab, and should be given to your labbie during the regular lab session.