A lab report serves several functions. In industry it serves as a legal document to establish priority of invention in patent disputes. While we don't expect many patentable discoveries to come out of 240 Lab, you should develop good lab report habits in case you should go to work for a company that does have such expectations.
In scientific research, it provides a record that allows you to duplicate your work if you succeed at your endeavor (or if you achieve some unexpected but significant result). It's also useful in identifying what might have gone wrong if you don't achieve your desired result.
In an educational environment, we have some additional goals. The lab report provides a mechanism for evaluating your performance.
Each lab group will turn in a single report into the window dropbox in Abercrombie A141. The first five lab reports can be in either Word or LaTeX format. However the remaining reports must be in TeX format. Both templates are available below. It is advisable that you start adopting TeX as early as possible in the semester to avoid a steep learning curve the second half of the semester. If you have never used LaTeX before, see the document "Getting Started with LaTeX" below.
Here are links to lab report templates and useful guidelines: