Setting Up Your Lab Book

If this is the first time you've used a lab book, you may be tempted to let your lab partner(s) get the data and simply copy it later. This is poor scientific technique. Everyone always has all the data in their own lab book. Some questions on the exams will require you to use your lab book to analyze or extrapolate data and trends. You will not be allowed to "borrow" someone else's lab book for this purpose. Make a point of being organized enough in the lab that everyone is recording as you go along.

We are going to set up your lab book and use exactly like you would in a college physics class. In a college class, you'd spend about $40 on an engineering notebook which is a hard bound book of graph paper, usually 9 x 12 inches in size. For this class, we will simplify and use a sewn in composition notebook. College rule is best and I have these available as a gift if you need one.

Rules about the Composition Book:

1) Pages are NEVER torn out. The book stays intact throughout the course.

2) College physics classes use ink in lab books. Why? So that data cannot be changed without clearly showing that it has been changed. If you make an error, you mark through it once and correct it and anyone who reads through it will know what you have done. Personally, I HATE this. I hate ink. It smears, blotches, and generally makes a mess - this, in spite of the fact that ink pens have been around since 1938. Here's an article on Wikipedia about them. Ball point pens

3) You will only record data, diagrams and graphs on the right side page. The left side is used for notes about the lab. The left page may be done in pencil if you prefer.

4) Every student has their own copy of the data and their own graph. Nearly every physics lab will have at least one graph. I recommend that you staple these in place on the correct page. Glue sticks simply don't last. Tape is fine, but there's always a stapler in the classroom, we can nearly always find it and it's a super inexpensive non-petroleum based way to lock that puppy down. Glue sticks are another technology that sells like crazy and yet doesn't really work. Since 1968 (50 years), we buy a technology that is shown to fail time after time. Glue sticks

5) All data tables are clearly labeled with what you measured (force, distance, time, electric field intensity) and the units used (newtons, meters, seconds, N/m.) All data is recorded to the correct number of significant digits given the device. Even if the thermometer reads 20 deg C, you write it as 20.0 deg C because that's the precision of the thermometer.

6) All graphs have

axes that are labeled with what was measured and the units for that measurement.
a line of best fit (never just connect the dots).
an analysis of the line either on the graph itself or to one side. You describe the shape of the trend (linear, parabolic or exponential, or reciprocal), write the generic formula for that shape (y=mx + b for example), then replace x and y with what is on the graph (force and distance for example), calculate the slope of the line or find the constant, and finally record the final equation with those variables in place. F=ma or F = 2.225 N/m/s/s(a).
the line needs to fit the graph and be on a large enough grid to make sense. If the data is fiddly and there's a lot of it, use a half page grid. If you are just looking for a trend line, use a quarter page grid.

Ready to set it up? Grab an pencil and ruler and here we go.

One of the issues with composition notebooks is that they are typically black and white, so sharpie marker doesn't show up on the cover unless they've actually left a place for your name and such. If they did, use black ink or a lovely black sharpie to record your name and class period. If there isn't a place, write it on a sticky note or similar and adhere it securely to the front cover. You are welcome to decorate the cover if you'd like. See image one below. I cannot adequately express the frustration I feel when I find a lab book without a name on the front and I have to attempt to locate the owner using only the names of the partners they have had in class...

1) Number the right hand pages from the front to the back 1-90 or so in the upper right hand corner. Do not number the left hand or back side. See image 2 below.

2) On the very first page, create a table of contents. See image 3 below. You're all set.