Lab Report Guidelines

In this document, your team will discuss the laboratory experiment on biofuels and present results. The report should present all appropriate information, including error analysis and discussion, and should be written clearly so that anyone with an engineering/science background can understand the motivation behind the study, the underlying physics of the experiment and its results, and any conclusions your team makes based on the results. An effective lab report can be divided into 5 sections: abstract, introduction, procedure/methodology, results/discussion, and a conclusion. Some of the necessary elements of each of these sections are described below.

The body of lab report (minus the Discussion and Conclusion section) will be submitted by a single member of each group. This part of the lab report has a maximum page limit of 5 pages. Please upload the lab report through Gradescope before the start of your next lab.

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 next lab.

Abstract (8 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 (2 points)

3. Succinct summary of measurement methods (1 point)

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.
2. Scientific background (15 points). Discuss the underlying scientific concepts that are relevant for determining the heat of combustion and producing biofuels. Explicitly mention the operational principle behind the bomb calorimeter. You should cite at least 3 different external sources.

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. Measurement procedure (5 points). How did you actually take measurements and what was measured? For example, to measure the temperature you need to measure the output voltage of your voltage divider circuit. How does this translate to temperature?
3. 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.
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 (27 points)

Present your results in a clear and concise manner. Tables and plots may be appropriate here to better convey results, but you do not need to include every plot created during the lab experiment. This section should include the following:

1. Temperature measurements for each fuel (i.e. the temperature before and post combustion)(10 points). You should include a figure for each measurement with the necessary error bars. Show the temperature difference before and after combustion on the plots.
2. Calibrated heat capacity of the bomb calorimeter (5 points). Please include the uncertainty in the measurement.
3. Calculation of the heat of combustion and fuel/air ratio (FAR) for each fuel (12 points).

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?
2. Comparison of performance metrics with other results (5 points). How do your results compare with those in literature? Which fuel had the largest heat of combustion? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using liquid fuels as opposed to solid fuels?
3. Discussion of experimental error (5 points). Discuss the limitations in the setup and experiment. Can you think of any ways that those limitations may have contributed to errors in your experiments? Attempt to quantify any large sources of error. Show your error analysis for the calculated quantities from the results section.

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 real-world consequences of your results.
3. Explain how the experiments could be improved (3 points). Throughout the lab report, your team has acknowledged the shortcomings and 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). What other information might we want to know about our fuel, and how might we obtain it?