Lab Report Guidelines

In this document, your team will present your experimental procedure that was proposed during the first week (10/19-10/23) along with your results from the proposed procedure. However, there are other elements to a lab report that are important so that anyone with an engineering/science background can understand the motivation behind your study, the underlying physics of the experiment and its results, along with some of the conclusions your team makes from the results. During lab lecture on 10/26, the structure of an effective lab report was discussed, so I would recommend reviewing your notes and the slides from that lecture in case anything is still a little confusing. But to summarize, an effective lab report can be divided into 5 sections: abstract, introduction, procedure/methodology, results/discussion, and a conclusion. In this wiki page, some the necessary elements of each of these sections will be further explained.

The lab report will be submitted by a single member of each group. The lab report has a maximum page limit of 5 pages (without the Discussion and Conclusion section). Please upload the lab report through Gradescope before the start of your lab during Week 11.

Each team member will be responsible for writing their own Discussion and Conclusion sections. Each individual submission has a maximum page limit of 2 pages. Each student should upload their individual submission through Gradescope before the start of your lab during Week 11.

A version of the lab rubric can also be found at this link. In this rubric, it is made clear of what constitutes more points. Use this wiki page to understand the contents that you should have in your lab report and how points are allocated to each element.

Abstract (10 points)

Abstract should be no longer than a paragraph.

1. Aim of the lab (5 points). Try to summarize the motivation and the goal of the experiments in a few sentences.

2. Succinct summary of main results/conclusions (3 points)

3. Succinct summary of measurement methods (2 points)

Introduction (20 points)

1. Explanation of the motivation for experiments (5 points). Convince your audience why it is worth reading your lab report. Try to connect your experiment to a bigger problem that can be solved and is more easily understood by a wider audience. For example, a study on testing different types of battery materials could be used to help with creating faster-charging electric vehicles.
2. Explicitly mention the performance metrics that were tested (5 points). In week 1, your team proposed some performance metrics you wanted to test with your hydrocar. Make sure you mention them here so that your audience understands the goal of your lab report. You can frame these performance metrics as questions so your audience knows that the goal of your lab report is to answer these questions.
3. Scientific background (10 points). Discuss the underlying scientific concepts that are relevant for the performance metrics that you measuring. For example, of your team is studying the performance of the solar panel, then you should include a discussion of how a solar panel works. You need to cite at 3 different external sources in this section.

Procedure/Methodology (15 points)

1. Explanation of general setup (3 points). Walk your audience through how your experiments were conducted and using what types of equipment. This is where figures can be useful.
2. Limitations of the setup (2 points). Your setup won't be perfect so try to discuss why. This discussion can also get your team thinking about sources of error in your experiment.
3. Measurement procedure for each performance metric (5 points). How did you actually take measurements and what was measured? For example, to measure electrical power you would need a current and voltage. How did you measure each? Circuit diagrams could also be useful in this section so your audience is aware of how you acquired the necessary electrical characteristics.
4. Useful figures for understanding setup (5 points). Figures are a great way for your audience to follow along with your experiment. However, be careful with how many figures you use as the maximum page limit is only 5 pages.

Results (25 points)

Since each group set out to measure different performance metrics, it is a little difficult to narrow down the contents of the results section. However, there will likely be a few elements that overlap across all lab reports. Results can be presented as plots or tables but in some cases its more reasonable to present the data in one form than another. For example, when you calculate the amount of energy or efficiency of a subsystem, a table might be more useful so that all of the information is in one place. In another example, a plot would be more appropriate if you are trying to show the time history of the car's velocity.

1. Calculation of the energy needed for the electrolysis/fuel cell reaction and state the type of reaction (5 points). Your team should already have the answer to this from the worksheet during Week 1 of this lab.
2. IV curves and fitting function for the tested subsystems (5 points). In order to measure the electrical energy input/output of any of your subsystems, you will need an IV curve and a fitting function. In the Procedure/Methodology section, you should have made it clear why you need an IV curve and what purpose it serves. Make sure you write out the fitting function you used.
3. Calculation of electric energy for the tested subsystems (5 points). Using your IV curve and time history of voltage, it is possible to measure the electrical energy. Make sure you state how you integrated your time history of electrical power.
4. Calculation of other forms of energy (kinetic or light) relevant to performance metric tests (5 points). Some of your performance metrics may include measurements of the car's top speed or the amount of light energy absorbed by the solar panel. Make sure you include those calculations in this section.
5. Quantify performance metric for each test (5 points). Here is the chance for you to provide an answer to the questions/performance metrics that were proposed to be measured in the Introduction section.

Discussion (15 points)

This section will be done by each team member individually and submitted separately.

1. Explanation of results (5 points). In this section, your team should try to make a connection between your observed results and the scientific concepts that were discussed in the Introduction section. Can you use some scientific concepts to explain the trends that you observe? For example, if you are measuring kinetic energy to test one of your performance metrics, you may have observed that your car started to decelerate towards the end of its run. Can you explain this?
2. Comparison of performance metrics with other results (5 points). How do your results compare with past results? You may have introduced some expected performance metrics in your Introduction section and so you would mention them again here. For example, is your solar panel or hydrogen fuel cell more or less efficient than commercially available options? Explain the differences.
3. Discussion of experimental error (5 points). In the Introduction section, you have mentioned limitations of your setup. Can you think of any ways that those limitations may have contributed to large errors in your experiments? Attempt to quantify any large sources of error.

Conclusion (15 points)

This section will be done by each team member individually and submitted separately.

1. Summary of the experiments (3 points)
2. Statement on the main results (7 points). Try to summarize the main points of your results and discussion. You could also discuss the consequences of your results. For example, your performance metric tests may suggest that the solar panel is very inefficient so more research must be conducted so that it is a more viable renewable energy resource.
3. Explain how the experiments could be improved (3 points). Throughout the lab report, your team has acknowledged the shortcomings and large sources of error of your experiments, so here is your chance to explain how you think they can be improved.
4. Future directions/recommendations for new experiments (2 points). Your team may have gotten some awesome data for conducting your performance metric tests but is there a chance those experiments could be taken a little further to answer any other questions you may have regarding the performance of the car? For example, a test that attempts to measure kinetic energy is a great way to understand the efficiency between fuel cell and motor. But instead of velocity, what if you wanted to study in a future experiment the acceleration of the hydrocar? Briefly touch on the new performance metrics that could be tested in your recommended experiments, but it should be clear how they connect to the tested performance metrics that are discussed in the report.