Key details:

Assessment title:

FC709 Laboratory Report (Summative)

Module Name:

Physics

Module Code:

FC709

Assessment will be set on:

Early Cycle 4

Feedback opportunities:

During monitored practical session with procedural checklist.

Assessment is due on:

Cycle 4

Assessment weighting:

20%

Assessment Instructions

What do you need to do for this assessment?  

Task:

You are required to write a lab report to record the process and the findings with your chosen experiment. It should be written as an independent record that can be read without further input from the author. 

The aim of the report is to evidence that you have developed skills required to conduct laboratory work and be able to communicate experimental procedures and experimental outcomes with academic audience in an appropriate scientific style.

Guidance:

For this assessment you should choose one of the following virtual experiments to write about.

· The Charge to Mass Ration of the Electron.

· Hooke’s Law and Simple Harmonic Motion.

Please note:

This is an individual assessment so you should not work with any other student.

Before you submit this assessment, your tutor will also ask for a draft copy of your report and provide written feedback. You will have an opportunity to receive feedback from your peers (other students in the class).  

Structure:

Your lab report should contain the following sections:

· Abstract. You should summarize essential aspects of the report: the purpose of the experiment, methodology, key findings, and major conclusions.

· Introduction. You should give a brief overview of the main theories behind the experiment.  What is the background to this experiment? You should clearly state the aim of the experiment – what are you trying to determine?

· Materials and methods. You should explain how the experiment was carried out. You should give enough detail so that another person can repeat the experiment in the same way you did.

· Results. You must include all your results. Results tables should be clearly labelled. All measurements must include units. If graphs are required, they should be an appropriate size and clearly labelled.

· Discussion. You need to explain what your results mean. You should link your results to relevant theories and explain how they fit together. You must use in-text citations where appropriate. Any unexpected results should be explained. Any errors may have affected your results. This could include errors such as systematic, parallax and human errors – ones that cannot be avoided.

· Conclusion. State what has been learned from this experiment. Have you met the aim of the experiment?

· References. You should list all sources used.

Theory and/or task resources required for the assessment:

You should refer to the appropriate chapters in the key texts in your FC709 Physics module as well as the lecture materials for the topic relevant to your experiment. You should also find relevant primary sources online using the online resources provided by your host university.

Referencing style.:

You should refer to a minimum of 3 relevant sources for your report. You must include a Harvard style. reference list at the end of your report.  

Expected word count:

You are expected to write around 1300 - 1800 words, excluding diagrams, tables, calculations, and references.

In each section you should include around the following number of words:

· Introduction & Aim 200-400 words

· Materials and methods 300 words

· Results 200 words

· Discussion 500-600 words

· Conclusion 200 words

Learning Outcomes Assessed:

· Apply good laboratory practice to the conduct of experiments, and to measure, record and interpret outcomes accurately using a lab report format.

Submission Guidelines:

Title page:

You must include the following paragraph on your title page:

“I confirm that this assignment is my own work.  

Where I have referred to academic sources, I have provided in-text citations and included the sources in the final reference list.”

Academic Integrity & Misconduct Information:

Please use this link to access more information on academic integrity and misconduct:

https://pathways.kaplaninternational.com/course/view.php?id=3436

Formatting:

1. Use Arial font size 11, with single spacing.

2. Each page of the assignment should have a header with the student ID number, module code (e.g. FC709) and the name of the class tutor.  Student name should not be written.

3. All pages should be numbered.

4. A title page consisting of the following information should be included:

· Module Code (e.g. FC709)

· Class/Group: (e.g. Group 1)

· Module Title (e.g. Physics)

· Assessment Title (e.g. Lab Report)

· Tutor Name: (name of tutor)

· Student GUID Number: (our GUID number only and NOT full name)

· Date of Submission: (date)

· Word count

Submission guidelines:

Save your file as a MS Word file and name it using this format:

YOUR STUDENT NUMBER – MODULE CODE – LabReportFile(n)-11.03/21

          eg: TT225566- FC709-LabReportFile(1)-11.03.22

Submit an electronic copy of your assignment through Turnitin on the FC709 Physics writing VLE page by the date provided.

NB – If you experience problems submitting your assessment to Turnitin: 

1. Contact College Services using this form. before the deadline: https://kicpathways.formstack.com/forms/contact_gic  

2. Under ‘What is your enquiry about?’, choose ‘assignment hand in’ 

3. In the ‘How can we help you?’ box, write what the assignment is (e.g. Formative 1 Research Proposal), the module (e.g. PM600), group (e.g. X EDU), tutor’s name and date it was due in 

4. Attach your assignment and screenshot(s) of the error message  

Alternative submissions will not be accepted after the deadline has passed.  Prior to the deadline you may submit to Turnitin as many times as you wish.

Late Submission:  Late submissions should be submitted to the late submission Turnitin assignment on the FC709 Physics VLE page.

Penalties for Work Submitted late:

How will this assessment be marked?

Virtual Lab Report

Overall Structure and Presentation (20%)

· Abstract is clear, brief and covers what, why, how and overall result.

· Attractive, clear layout with title page, headings and subheadings.

· Tables are neat, with column headings. Graphs have titles, labelled axes and well-spaced scales. Equations and calculations are well laid out and correctly formatted. Method is well laid out and easy to follow

· 3^rd person passive used with paragraphs for each section. Good sentence structure with correct spelling.

· References used correctly and formatted accurately.

Experimental procedure (30%)

· Complete list of materials

· Diagram of equipment set-up

· Appropriate method chosen

· Appropriate use of safety precautions 

Data handling and Scientific understanding (50%)

· Clear explanation of the science underlying your observations.

· Reasons for experimental method.

· Good quality results with units.

· Explanations of good or bad results.

· Links to theory.

· Equations, structural formulae.

· Correct mathematical manipulation in calculations, including units.

· Interpretation of graphs.

· Results quoted to correct precision

· Consideration of errors.

· Propagation of uncertainties in the results.

· Clear conclusion which confirms (or otherwise) the hypothesis or claim.

The overall mark will be a percentage (0-100%).  

How will you get feedback?

Your tutor will mark the assessment and provide you with feedback through Turnitin, usually available two weeks after submission.  You can use this feedback to guide your further learning on the module.