ASTRONOMY LAB
You have to make observation and take data on the Full moon day. If weather is not good at that that day, you can do it a day before or after. You are taking data when moon is at two different positions. One near the horizon and another high above in the sky. Ideally it is done around 6 pm when moon is rising and again 3 to 4 hours later. But it can also be done on near the midnight and another before it sets around 5 to 6 am in the morning.
Since it is date sensitive experiment, late submission for partial credit is not available.
(Important: Next lab, the lab 4 is already posted. It is because, it requires four observations a week apart each. You should take the first observation within few days after midterm. You will see Moon in the evening sky)
Instructions for writing a Lab report
The goal of a scientific report is to communicate the reader the purpose, methods, data and the
result of your work. You must be mindful about how much detail to put in the report. If you put
too much detail, it becomes boring. If you dont write in a particular format, it may become story
rather than a scientific report. Therefore, it has to be concise but detailed enough so that interested
people can replicate the result if they want. For our labs, depending on how well you write
(communicate), and the nature of the lab, you may have anywhere from a page or two of writing.
The report may vary slightly depending on the nature of the project but all of them have
following elements:
Title of the Experiment: It is descriptive name of your project not lab 1 or 2. (1 point)
Your name: You want to tell you did the work.
Viewing location and name of the others in your group if you took data as a group (1
point): Location such as name of the park, intersection of streets etc. Dont write your home
address for your privacy. But writing just at my home is NOT enough. Write none for the
name of others if you did it ALONE.
Statement of Purpose (2 points): One or two sentences stating the objective(s) of the
experiment (in your own words) will be sufficient.
Procedure (4 points): It should contain a concise and well-written description of what
you observed/measured and how you did it in past tense. (Like length was measured or I
measured the length instead of measure the length). You can list them if you like. Person
reading your report should be able to do the experiment by reading your procedure.
Data and Calculation (8 points): In this section you present the data you obtained while
doing the observation/experiment and show the relevant calculation. Use tables and
graphs where appropriate. Sketch the observation with your hand when needed. Copied
sketch or diagram doesnt earn any point. Always properly label your sketches including
the time and date of your observations (remember the date changes at midnight). Use SI
units, appropriate number of significant figures and scientific notation. Calculate the
percent discrepancy between you results and the standard result when the standard result is
known. Remember, showing your work is more important than the result.
Conclusion and Analysis (4 points): State the results clearly and discuss the relation
between your results and the expected or predicted results. Include possible sources of
errors and way to improve it using other techniques. Source of error and ways to improve
it earns 2 points in this section.
Note: Do not use cover page. Keep up with due dates. You need to turn in your electronic report
in pdf format by uploading on canvas by the due date. You can compose your report in Microsoft
word including equations, sketches, picture and save as pdf before submitting it. If you cant
draw and write equation in Microsoft-word, you can write do that on paper and take picture and
include that in report on proper place. Emailed labs will not be accepted and it will not extend
the due date. There will be 20% deduction for late labs turned in within a week from announced
due date and time. More than a week late lab will not be counted as zero. Happy learning science
and scientific methods!
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