IB BIOLOGY INTERNAL ASSESSMENT LAB FORMAT

The following titles and subtitles should be used for your lab report. Do not cram sections together leaving me no room to make comments. Leave a space between each title or subtitle section. Do not do sections out of order (like attaching graphs at the end). The lab report should be typed and make sure you save the file as a backup. Note how the titles and subtitles are in bold or all capital letters. ______________________________________________________________________ Your Name Instructor: Ms. Powell IB Biology Date (the above needs to appear on every page) TITLE OF LAB REPORT centered and in capitalized bold type (should be descriptive). DESIGN Research Question
Clear focused statement. It should include your independent and dependent variables and identify the name of any organisms studied (common and scientific).

Hypothesis
This is your candidate explanation for your research question.

Prediction(s)
These are the outcomes you would expect in your experiment if the hypothesis is to be supported.

Variables
A chart or list showing Independent, Dependent, & Controlled Variables

Apparatus Materials
List all the major pieces of apparatus and equipment.

Protocol Setup
Draw & label a diagram(s) which best shows the apparatus and protocol you used. You could use a digital image of this, but be sure to annotate.

Procedure
In paragraph form or as a list, passive voice, past tense. Here you are describing the method you used in your research. This should include how you controlled the variables and how you collected sufficient data. Procedure should include multiple trials for each condition.

(Note: Every page needs a page number at the bottom center)

DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING Raw Data Collection

Make sure this is raw data only. Raw data includes both data collected of the dependent variable and controlled variables. Data table design & clarity is important. Each table needs a number and a valid title. Make sure that all columns, etc. are properly headed & units are given. Make an attempt to never split a data table (putting part of a table on one page and finishing it on another). Include any units associated with the data. Uncertainties can be given as footnotes beneath data tables.

Overview of Processing
This is a short paragraph or sentence that gives an overview of how you processed and presented the data in the form that shows up later in this section.

Sample Calculation(s)
Neatly lay out and explain one example only of any type of manipulation that was done to the raw data to help make it more useful for interpretation.

Processed and Presented Data

This is typically one or more data tables (of your now processed data) and one or more graphs of this processed data. Once again, the design & clarity of data table(s) is important and the quality of graphs is also very important. Give careful consideration to the choice of graph(s) styles that you choose to do. Make sure that you follow good standard rules for doing graphs (tables or graphs are numbered, valid title for each, axis labeled including units, etc.) Weak experimental design can sometimes limit you to pie graphs and/or bar graphs; avoid this by good experimental design. Errors and uncertainties can be given as footnotes beneath data tables or graphs.

CONCLUSION & EVALAUATION Conclusion

This is a paragraph section in which you get a chance to discuss the results of your experiment. Start by addressing whether your data seems to support or refute your prediction. Make sure you restate your prediction. This should be discussed and not just stated. You need to justify how your interpretation of the data supports or does not support your prediction(s). Specifically refer to the information in your graphs to give support to this discussion. Then relate this to your hypothesis (your prediction either supports or refutes your hypothesis). Make sure you restate your hypothesis.

Evaluation of Experimental Design

This paragraph section discusses what weaknesses or limitations there were in your experimental design. Discuss what did not work well and why. Make sure you are not offering suggestions for improvement since this comes in the next section.

Suggestions for Improvement

This paragraph section offers realistic suggestions that would improve on the above identified weaknesses or limitations. Specifically: 1. What minor improvements could be made to the design features that you just mentioned in the previous section that would perhaps lead to better results next time 2. What suggestions do you have for other possible experimental designs that may work better for answering the research question

Refer to the Internal Assessment Grading Matrix (see IB curriculum guide) for a complete picture of how you are evaluated on each of the three criteria, which show up as CAPATALIZED TITLES in this format.