Sometimes you will be asked to do an activity to demonstrate an idea or technique rather than conducting an investigation. When you do this, a full-scale lab research report is not appropriate…there is no research question, no hypothesis, etc.
When you do a lab activity, it can be reported as a Lab Activity Note. This is a simplified version of a full Lab Research Report.
An Activity Note should include an introduction, procedure, data and observations, and a conclusion.
Introduction: Briefly discuss the situation or technique which is being studied. The purpose, or objective, of the activity must be clearly stated. Note that in the two examples below, the purpose is actually stated in the title of the Note.
Procedure: Write a short description of what was done. A diagram or photo of the set-up is helpful for more complex situations.
Data & Observations: Present all measurements and/or observations. This could mean just a sentence or two describing your observations for simple activities. If more data has been collected, a simple data table is appropriate.
Conclusion: Explain what the observed data shows with respect to the objective of the activity. Evaluate the quality and validity of the procedure and results if appropriate.
Often in an Activity Note, each of these sections is only a few sentences long. In these cases, do not include subtitles for each section.
Here are two examples of a Lab Activity Note.
Here is the Assessment Rubric that will be used to assess a Lab Activity Note.