NEW MEXICO INSTITUTE OF MINING AND TECHNOLOGY

MINERAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Soil Mechanics
Laboratory
A Guide for Preparing Laboratory Reports
Dr. Mehrdad Razavi

Revision 3: Fall 2014

Table of Contents

Page

Laboratory Testing and Preparation of the Report ............................................................. 2

Lab Organization ................................................................................................................ 2
Lab Report .......................................................................................................................... 2
Font ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Paper Size and Margins ...................................................................................................... 3
Page Numbers ..................................................................................................................... 3
Arrangement of the Report ................................................................................................. 4
1. Cover page ...................................................................................................... 4
2. Table of Contents ............................................................................................ 5
3. Introduction..................................................................................................... 5
4. Theory (when applicable) ............................................................................... 5
5. Test Procedure ................................................................................................ 5
6. Results and Discussion ................................................................................... 5
7. Recommendation (when applicable) ............................................................... 6
8. References ....................................................................................................... 6
9. Appendices ...................................................................................................... 7

Tables and Figures .............................................................................................................. 7

Acknowledgement .............................................................................................................. 8
Grading Ruberic .................................................................................................................. 9

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Laboratory Testing and Preparation of the Report

Laboratory testing of soils for their engineering properties is an integral part in the
design and construction of foundations on soils, specifications for quality control,
and improvement of soil properties. Design and construction using soils requires
the use of fundamental theoretical and empirical relationships. Indices (or
parameters) obtained in the laboratory or in the field are used to solve design
equations. With careful laboratory testing, it is possible to determine the physical
parameters used in these equations with a high degree of accuracy and
confidence. As field soil conditions vary to a great extent, it is important to define
the range of values for certain parameters while those values deemed critical (i.e.
worst case conditions) may also needed to be identified.

Lab procedures require that the student become familiar with the testing
procedure before beginning the test. Sample preparation is critical to good test
results. Determine how and when data is to be recorded and in what format. It is
always good to record data directly onto the lab sheet provided. If scratch sheets
are used for recording any data, retain them; they may contain valuable
information not transferred to data sheets. After your reduced data is approved,
final lab data sheets must be completed using a black pen. No light writing or blue
ink will be accepted, as the data sheets will not reproduce.

Lab Organization

Lab groups will consist of partners or groups. Grades will be based on

participation, accuracy of data recording and reduction, completion of tasks for
lab procedures, and the report itself. Different grades will be given to different
members of each lab group.

Lab Report

The organization of lab reports is very important. One of the goals of this course
is to learn to write a clear, concise, high quality technical lab report. The format
for the reports required in this course is provided herein. Even though the format
appears simple, past experience with students has demonstrated that, report after
report, most students have great difficulty with writing and continue to make the
same mistakes in organization and editorial phrasing from report to report.

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Lab reports will be typed. All figures, tables, and drawings should be prepared by
using computer programs. No handwritten notes, figures, tables, etc. are allowed
in the main part of the report. However, the data sheet filled in during the lab will
be attached as an appendix in the end of the report. The following writing
guidelines in writing lab reports should be used:

1. Do not use first person; technical reports are written in third person.

2. Do not write in present tense when discussing the procedures followed in

the lab, what samples were used, etc.

3. Do not use one-sentence paragraphs; paragraphs should have three parts:

an introductory sentence, an ending sentence, and well-phrased discussion
between.

Font

Use 12 points (1 point = 1/72 in.) for the font size of the report. Never use more
than three different fonts in your report. Times New Roman, Georgia, and Arial
fonts are preferred. Use bold for the first level titles, italic bold for the second
level titles, and regular style for the text.

Paper Size and Margins

Print your report on only one side of white letter size paper (8.5 in. × 11 in.) and
consider 1.5 in. for the margins (top, bottom, left, and right). Align the text to
both the left and right margins. Use double spacing style for the distance between
lines.

Page Numbers

Insert page numbers at the bottom center of each page, 0.75 in. from the bottom of
the page. All pages except the cover page must have a page number starting at
page 1.

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Arrangement of the Report

1. Cover page

The cover page is the first page of the report and it includes name of the test,
report number, names of the group members, date of the test, and due date of the
report. Figure 1 shows a sample cover page.

New Mexico Tech

Mineral Engineering Department
Soil Mechanics Laboratory Report

Grain Size Distribution: Sieve Analysis

Report No. 1

Written by: <First Name and Last Name>

Checked by: <1. First Name and Last Name>
(<2. First Name and Last Name>)
Approved by: <First Name and Last Name>

Test Date: <mm/dd/yy>

Due Date: <mm/dd/yy>

Figure 1: A sample cover page.

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2. Table of Contents

After the cover page is a table of contents, which should cover all the titles used
in the report. The titles are written with the same font size and formatting as in the
report. Additionally, all the words in titles should generally be capitalized.

3. Introduction

The introduction should be written in present tense, and be concise. The

introduction should refer to the tests which were performed, the purpose of the
tests, and the soil type. Describe the soils in general terms and explain where they
come from. Include visual grain size distribution, texture, color, odor, plastic
properties, etc. of the soil(s).

4. Theory (when applicable)

For certain labs assigned, a discussion on theory is necessary. In some cases, a

schematic drawing of the lab testing equipment may be helpful in your
explanation. For example, for a test like hydrometer analysis you should mention
the theory behind the test (Stokes’ law).

5. Test Procedure

This section is also to be very brief, however concise. If the procedure is done
according to ASTM standards, there is no need to reiterate it; simply include a
reference to the ASTM standard procedure followed from the reference book in
the lab.

6. Results and Discussion

This section includes reference to the lab data sheets (to be placed in the
appendix), and a summary of the results arranged in tables. The result section is
the most important part, is often the shortest, and is followed by a well-written
discussion. Discussion, however, is usually the hardest section to write; in the
discussion try to present the principals, relationships, and generalizations shown
by the results. A discussion of the results should address only relevant results
illustrated in your tables and figures.

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Never use the phrases “As you can see…” or “It is apparent that…” in the
discussion. Instead, give a clear, concise evaluation of all test results. Do the
values you obtain represent typical values? Were the results expected and why?
For this class, result accuracy is less important than recognition and discussion of
non-typical results. Testing accuracy and possible sources of testing error need to
be highlighted.

7. Recommendation (when applicable)

If a proposed design is provided for the lab assignment, comment on the

appropriateness of the design in light of the test results. If the test results show
that the proposed design is not appropriate, make general recommendations for
further testing or changes in the proposed design.

8. References

It is necessary to prepare a list of the references you used to prepare your lab
report. On the references page, list authors in alphabetical order and use the
following formats for the references.

a. Books

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., and Author, C. C. (year). Title of book: Subtitle.
(Edition [if not first]). Place of publication: Publisher.

Example:
Holtz, R. D. and Kovacs, W. D. (1981). An Introduction to Geotechnical
Engineering, 1st Edition, Prentice Hall.

b. Thesis

Author, I.N. (YEAR). Title of Thesis. Unpublished PhD Thesis. University.

Example:
Jones, H. C., Cross, W & Smith, K. M. (1999). Get your dissertation done.
Baltimore: University of Baltimore Press.

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c. Journal or Conference Papers

Author(s) Year, ‘Article Title’, Journal Name, vol. Volume, no. Issue, pp. Pages.

Example:
Seaman, C.B., Mendonca, M.G. & Kim, Y.M. 2003, ‘User evaluation and
evolution of a prototype management tool’, IEEE Transactions on
Software Engineering, vol. 29, no. 9, pp. 838-51.

d. Websites

Author. (Date published if available; n.d.-no date- if not). Title of article. Title of
web site . Retrieved date. from <URL>.

Example:
United Nations Environment Programme (2001). Environmental Aspects of
Phosphate and Potash Mining. Retrieved January 2008. From
www.mineralresourcesforum.org/docs/pdfs/phosphate_potash_mining.pdf

9. Appendices

All lab data sheets will be placed in an appendix or appendices, depending on the
number and type. Each appendix requires a cover page properly labeled.

Tables and Figures

Tables and figures must be prepared neatly, always centered on a page with a
proper centered title or caption. They are referred to in the text as “Table X” and
“Figure Y,” capitalizing the first letter, followed by a number. Figure caption is
positioned at the bottom of the figures while table title is positioned at the top of
the table. Descriptions of tables and figures must be presented before them.

For figures, general plotting routines (Grapher, MS-Excel, MATLAB, etc.) must
be used and axes must have units. Data points must be well defined. If a point on
the plot is on a wrong place the errors that caused wrong results must be
mentioned. Footnotes are appropriate for explanation or clarification, using
superscripted numbers or small cap letters. Tables should be boxed in for
neatness, and should appear entirely on one page. An example of using tables and
figures is given below:

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 Table 1: Liquid limit results.

Mass of Mass of Mass of Mass of Water

No. of Mass of Can
Wet Sample & Can Dry Sample & Can Water Soil Content
blows (g)
(g) (g) (g) (g) (%)
41 1.05 17.30 12.48 4.82 11.43 42
34 1.03 23.40 16.55 6.85 15.52 44
33 1.08 22.88 16.16 6.72 15.08 45
31 1.05 15.80 11.17 4.63 10.12 46
25 1.12 13.75 9.67 4.08 8.55 48
20 1.06 16.77 11.49 5.28 10.43 51

Figure 2: Variation of dry density with water content.

Acknowledgement

The laboratory manual provided by Dr. Catherine T. Aimone-Martin was used to

prepare most parts of this guide. Her kindness is greatly appreciated. I would like
to thank Bahareh Ghazvinain, Abibata Essilfie, Tracy Baker, and Allen Kinney
for their help in preparing this guide and summary of the lab procedures.

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Grading Rubric

The lab reports will be graded according to the following rubric. Attach a copy to
your report as the last page.

Report Title 1

Report Number 1

5 Cover Page Group Members 1

Test Date 1

Due Date 1

Introduction – concise 3

Theory & Procedure – any deviations from the standard test? 3

15 Arrangement Results & Discussion 3

References – properly referenced, including the lab manual 3

Appendices – need to include original, signed data sheets 3

Clear Statements 10

Third Person 5
30 Writing
Style – use active voice wherever possible 10

Punctuation and grammar 5

Table of Contents 2

Font – appropriate type and size 2

Margins – 1.5” all around 1

Page Numbers – bottom, centered 1

Titles 2

20 Formatting Figures and Figure Captions 2

Tables and Table Captions 2

Equations – use an equation editor 2

Units – consistently use either SI or British units 2

References 2

Clear Print 2

Results – presented clearly 5

Results and
30 Discussion – what do the results mean and what was expected? 15
Discussion
Validation of Results – discuss typical values 10

100 Possible Points