AP Biology Lab

Each AP Bio lab has three components that will be followed to ensure the labs are completed in a timely
manner. The pre lab section is where you take notes on the procedures, background knowledge and
purpose of upcoming labs from various sources. On the day of the lab, you will use this base knowledge
from pre lab to complete the procedures in one class period. There is not enough time to do labs over more
than one day. The post lab assignment is the creation of a lab report that will either be hand written into
your notebook or displayed other ways.
The notebook is a permanent record of your lab work, some colleges will ask for it to give you credit for an
AP science course. Therefore, always work neatly and in pen (blue or black ink ONLY). If you make an error
DO NOT erase anything, just draw a single solid line through it (NO WHITE OUT). Also, there can be no torn
pages. The following elements need to be included in your lab notebook.
To set up Your Lab Notebook
Table Of Contents
Begin the Table of Contents on the very first page. Make three columns and : Date; Page Number; Title.
Skip a page and then begin numbering each page in the top right corner. You will only be using the right
side of the book (the left side will be left blank).
For Each Lab
1. General Title and date
2. Pre-Lab: Done prior to beginning the lab
Prior to each lab, you will be required to gain background information about various s of each lab from a
variety of resources. This pre-lab information should be noted carefully here and will be used when you
write your lab report. Pre lab information may include:

Purpose of the lab

Methods/Procedure: Briefly describe in a numbered format what materials, methods and procedure
used in the activity.
Sketches of lab apparatus, labeled.
Hypothesis: use the "if...then...because" format
Identify the following variables and controls
o Independent variable
o Dependent variable
o Control variables
o Experimental variables
Pre-lab questions: The answers should be in full sentences and include all the calculations and steps
Background information
Hand drawn data tables that will be used for data collection during lab.

Day of the lab: Data Collection

With your background information, you will successfully complete the lab in the allotted class time. Data
should be collected in neat data tables.
You will be working with a lab partner to gather data, but that will be ALL that you share with your partner
unless otherwise noted. The final product, the lab report, should be your own.
Post Lab: AP Biology Formal Lab Report Guidelines
Prepare a hand written report of your experiment which includes the section titles listed below in your lab
notebook. These section titles should be used to label each section of your report.
I. Title
II. Introduction
III. Materials and Procedures
IV. Results/Data Collection/Analysis
V. Discussion/Conclusion
The following information should be included in each section of the lab report.
I. Title - Be as specific as possible and briefly denote primary topic dealt with during the experimentation.
The title should be written in the appropriate box provided on the lab book formatted page.
II. Introduction - In this section of the report you should include the following pieces of information:
a. Background information that will help them understands the experiment that you have conducted.
Important terms should be defined in the section. Along with any and all topics that aided YOU in your
understanding of this lab.
b. Purpose of the lab and should be clearly stated in the introduction.
c. Hypothesis a testable hypothesis should be included, written in an if-then format.
III. Materials & Procedures - A complete listing of the materials and supplies that were used to conduct
the experiment should be included in this portion of the report. In this section of the report you should
present the exact steps that were followed in your experiment. Clearly identify the control, variables and
the measurement techniques used. Pictures of your experiment can be taken, printed, cut out and taped
neatly into this section.
IV. Results/Data Collection/- All of the data that was collected during the experiment should be
presented in a data table or tables created with Excel, printed, cut out and taped into this space.
Additionally, a graph of the data should be included in this section, created with Excel, printed, cut out and
taped into this space. Make sure both the data tables and graph are appropriately titled and axes or
columns and rows are labeled. Include a legend if necessary
V. Analysis. Any statistical analysis of your data should be included in this section. This may include
simple averages to deviation to chi square tests.
VI. Discussion/Conclusions - This portion of the report is used to clearly explain whether the results
support or refute the hypothesis being tested. Explain what your findings mean and what conclusions you
can draw from the data. Sources of error and suggestions for improvement should be included in this
section.

AP Biology Lab Rubric

Report Item

Possibl
e

Points
Pre Lab
15
Title
3
Introduction (15)
Background information
10
Purpose of the experiment
2
hypothesis
3
Materials and Procedures (12)
Materials listed
3
Procedures stated
3
Variables identified
3
Pictures added
3
Results and data collection (18)
Data tables (required excel format)
Titled
3
Data neatly recorded
3
Columns labeled
3
Rows labeled
Graph(s) (required in excel format)
Titled
3
Axes labeled
3
Correct graph used
3
Analysis(7)
All computations present
3
Labeled
2
All work is shown
2
Conclusion (30)
Prove or disprove hypothesis
2
Use data to support your
20
conclusions
Summarize lab
Errors identified
Improvements recommended
Comments

2
3
3

Total Points

100

Earned points/comments