Generic science class data table
In my physic classes, we do a lot of labs. Students are encouraged to create their own data tables, but many aren’t so “linearly” inclined, and have difficulty creating neat tables. I created a generic data table they can use on any lab.
Design of the data table
Most of our labs require three measurements of ten different settings of their “independent variables.” I suggest to my students that if their first three measurements don’t look “close enough” to each other, then they repeat it again and see if:
- any one of the now four look like “outliers” probably due to a mistake in their work on that run, or
- if their results just have a large spread probably due to the low precision of the experimental design.
The data table includes a couple extra columns with this in mind.
We generate a rough outline of the lab procedures, but students often have to make decisions about the specifics of their lab. Thus there is a section for “Notes before conducting lab” and “Notes after conducting lab.”
You may download a PDF version of my generic data table here.
