Pre Lab Formats: Flowcharts or pictures Before you begin an experiment, you need to read the procedure. Your prelab should be detailed enough that you could use your pre-lab to conduct the lab.

All pre labs should include:1. Purpose of lab: 2. Hypothesis: what do you expect to see and why?

Flowchart Flowcharts should be brief and cover all the steps in a simple and easy to

follow manner. A "road map" of the experiment. No more than one page. No complicated sentences or paragraphs in the flowchart

In general there are two major steps when constructing the flowchart. 1. First, read the experimental procedure carefully. 2. Second, rewrite the procedures in a flowchart format.

There is no “right way” -- Everyone’s chart will look different!

Example

Purpose of lab:What do you expect to see and why?

Drawings Use as few words as possible “Show” don’t tell Read the procedure carefully

There is no “right way” -- Everyone’s drawings will look different! In general there are two major steps when drawing the procedure of a lab.

o First, read the experimental procedure carefully. o Second, draw the procedure and label important parts or steps.

ExamplePurpose of lab: to discover the relationship between object distance and image distance with a concave mirror

What do you expect to see and why? At the point where the light rays converge I expect to see a real image projected onto a notecard. This image will shift in and out of focus as I move the card.