This rubric is designed to help you understand what makes a good lab report. Use this rubric as a guide as you write, proofread, and revise your lab report. This rubric is also of the form the TA will use to grade your lab reports. The TA will use a three tier scale (excellent, fair, and poor) to relate how well your report meets each of the criteria below. Click here to see the actual rubric for the first lab (cart on track). Click here to see some comments from grading of a previous lab.
Section |
Points |
Criteria |
Title |
2 |
• Title describes lab concisely, adequately and appropriately |
Authors |
3 |
• List names of all collaborators in this wor |
Introduction |
5 |
• What was to be found • Why is this measurement important or informative? • Did you know ahead of time what value you should get? |
Materials and Methods |
10 |
• Clear description of experimental design • Clear physics diagram of apparatus and measurements • What materials were used • What was measured • Gives enough detail to allow the experiment to be replicated |
Data |
15 |
• Actual data, presented clearly, for example in tabular form • Sufficient data carefully recorded • Repeated measurements if appropriate • Appropriate significant figures • What can you say about accuracy of your measurements • Graphs, if appropriate |
Analysis |
30 |
• Clearly explain how the analysis was done ° What physics principles were used? Were principles applied correctly? ° Assumptions or approximations made, if any? What effect did approximations have on your result (too big? too small?) • Sow calculations (if many similar calculations, show one in detail) • Accuracy of results? ° Sources of error inherent in the experimental design |
Conclusion |
10 |
• Calculated value or result • Compare to expectations |
Reflection |
5 |
• Did the experiment raise new questions in your mind? • How could the accuracy of the measurement be improved? |
Style |
5 |
• Terse: be as brief and as clear as possible • Complete sentences, correct grammar and spelling • All numbers labelled with units • Correct use of significant figures |