CAPE SBA

It is well known that coins minted between 1908 and

1919 had a composition of over 90% silver by mass
while those minted after 1919 have very little silver
but are composed of over 90% nickel. Coins made
before 1919 may be worth approximately $200 000
each, while those minted after 1919 are worth nothing.
What features must you include in an experiment to
determine the true worth of the coin collection?
Laboratory notebook
Here are some rules of thumb for presenting an excellent
laboratory notebook.
The notebook
1 The pages of the laboratory notebook should be
numbered.
2 There should be a table of contents.
3 All experiments should be dated.
The experiments
Here is the general format for laboratory experiments:
■ Experiment title
■ Date
■ Topic
■ Aim
■ Apparatus and materials
■ Procedure
■ Results and calculations
■ Theory
■ Discussion
■ Conclusions
Guidelines
Topic and aim
Your topic and your aim should be consistent with the
actual experiment being performed.
Apparatus and materials
Separate lists of apparatus and materials should be
included. Making separate lists allows you to see if any
key bits of apparatus or any key materials have been
missed. This is especially useful for ‘plan and design’
experiments.
Procedure
The way the procedure is expressed may vary depending
on the type of experiment. The general criteria for
expressing a procedure are as follows:
■ it must be in the past tense
■ it must be in the passive voice
■ it should be concise
■ it should follow the logical sequence of events
■ it should not include any observations or inferences.
Results and calculations
As far as possible, results should be tabulated. This reduces
the space utilized and correlates the results obtained to
the tests performed.
Calculations should be concise and to the point. All
associated formulae should be noted. Take care that
all fundamental and derived units are correct. Plot all
graphs that are necessary. In some experiments, data
will be extrapolated from the graph to be used in other
calculations (for example, the gradient); pay keen
attention to the values and units.
Theory
The theory section should give a brief background of the
law, principle or equation under investigation or used in
the analysis of data.
Discussion
Consider precautions, limitations and (with hindsight)
possible improvements. Answer all other questions
associated with the experiment.
Conclusions
This should be a clear, concise statement of your result,
whether numerical or factual, related to the problem
posed in the aim.
Good writing and not-so good examples
This section will be a comparison of the work from two
different students. The reports will be analysed and the
good features and bad features of each report will be
highlighted.
In these examples, quantity symbols (e.g. I for current)
will not be printed in italics, because you will not be able
to do this in a handwritten report.