How to Write a Hypothesis for a Lab Report Text

Jonathan Friesen - Writing Coach

The hypothesis is often thought of as the most difficult part of the scientific method. The hypothesis represents the subject around which the entire experiment revolves. You can follow a few simple steps to generate a hypothesis that is testable and explains how variables are connected. Come up with a general hypothesis, which is created after you have observed something.

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For example, if you notice during a research period that acid rain affects the population of fish in a lake, your general hypothesis could be acid rain reduces fish population. For example, you could say if acid rain in a lake is related to fish population, then lower ph levels caused by acid rain lead to a decline in fish population. You could also say as ph levels are lowered by acid rain, the rate of population decline of fish in the water increases. In the statements in step 3, you have an independent variable acid rain and ph levels and the dependent variable fish population. If you cannot build an experiment around the hypothesis, rewrite it so that you can test the variables. improving your title a good title efficiently tells the reader what the report is about. It may include such information as the subject of the experiment what it is about , the key research variables, the kind of research methodology used, and the overall findings of the experiment.

To make your titles better, follow these guidelines: if your title is too long takes up more than a line , reduce it by taking out non essential words and phrases. If your title doesn't have enough information, make a list of the key words related to the experiment scientific concept of the experiment, important variables, procedure, overall finding and use the list to come up with ideas for further information. If your title is a complete sentence with a subject and a predicate , rewrite it so that it is not a full statement but a phrase describing the experiment. improving your abstract a good abstract is a miniature version of the lab report in one concise paragraph and labeled abstract. improving your introduction successfully establishes the scientific concept of the lab to establish the scientific concept for the lab you need to do two things: 1.

State what the lab is about, that is, what scientific concept theory, principle, procedure, etc. If you are having trouble writing the opening sentence of the report, you can try something like: this laboratory experiment focuses on x 133 this lab is designed to help students learn about, observe, or investigate, x 133. Give the necessary background for the scientific concept by telling what you know about it the main references you can use are the lab manual, the textbook, lecture notes, and other sources recommended by the lab manual or lab instructor in more advanced labs you may also be expected to cite the findings of previous scientific studies related to the lab. In relatively simple labs you can do this in a paragraph following the initial statement of the scientific concept of the lab. effectively presents the objectives and purpose of the lab in a paragraph, or more if you need it, write out the objectives of the lab in paragraph form and then describe the purpose of the lab: what it is that accomplishing the objectives will help you learn about the scientific concept of the lab. The objective s are what it is you are supposed to accomplish in the experimental procedure itself. The objective s , therefore, is usually presented in terms of a specific verb that describes what you are supposed to be doing in the lab, such as to measure, to analyze, to determine, to test etc.

If you are having trouble phrasing the sentence about objectives, try something like: the main objectives of this lab were to 133 in this lab we were to 133. Purpose provides the wider view it answers the why question, why you are doing the lab in the first place. Instead of focusing just on the specific actions of the experimental procedure, purpose looks at the experimental procedure within the context of what you are supposed to be learning.

If you are having trouble starting the sentence about the purpose of the lab, try saying something like this: the objectives of this lab enabled me to learn about x by 133 performing these objectives helped me to understand x by 133. Typically the outcomes will be presented in terms of the relationship between dependent and independent variables. If you are having trouble starting the paragraph on the hypothesis, try a sentence opener like this: the hypothesis for this lab was 133 my hypothesis was 133 we predicted that 133 i hypothesized that 133. Providing logical reasoning for the hypothesis means explaining the reasoning that you used to make your hypothesis. Usually this reasoning is based on what you know about the scientific concept of the lab and how that knowledge led you to the hypothesis. In a couple of sentences more for complex labs describe the logic that you used to reason from what you know about the scientific concept to your educated guess of the outcomes of the experimental procedure.