Writing a Lab Report—continued
Step 2. Experimentation
Observation is the Basis for Experimentation
Careful observations must be made during the experiment. Observing means to use all of your senses carefully (sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch) and to note any measurable changes, such as plant height, colour of the leaves, size of the leaves, number of leaves, etc.. You should carefully record all that you observe including changes that you didn’t expect or that don’t seem to be part of the experiment—such as fungus growing on the leaves. Many scientific discoveries (e.g. penicillin) are the result of “accidents” in the laboratory. This recorded information is called data. It can be reported in written form, like a paragraph, or in tables and graphs. Charting the height of the plant daily is important data in the experiment.
