February 20, 2019

 

Lab report Ontogenetic Color Change and Mating Cues in Largus californicus (Hemiptera: Largidae) is a very informative and a persuasive report because it shows that the writer of the report is very knowledgeable about the topic. This report talks about how ontogenetic color change can be useful during sexual maturation, and how it was found to be advantageous in other different creatures. The purpose of the lab was to see if the male Largus californicus use color cues, and if the ontogenetic color change plays a big role in the mating process. Each section of the lab report is very detailed and clearly written. This allows the readers to fully understand what is being done in the experiment, and it also shows that the writer is very insightful in this subject. Temperature and Pressure Measurement of an Ideal Gas That Is heated in a Closed Container is the second lab report. This report is clearly written but is not very informative because it does not provide the reader with a lot of background information. The report is also not persuasive because it does not contain a lot of details on the experiment. In this lab report, the author talks about the ideal gas law. One purpose of the experiment was to see if the ideal gas equation of state holds true. This report is written clearly and with a small amount of details. Both lab reports contain headings which reflect common elements in the lab report and organize the report. This allows the readers to quickly find what they are looking for. Comparing and analyzing how different elements of these lab reports are written will increase the understanding of how a proper lab report should be written, and it will also show which sections are crucial for a lab report.

The title of the lab report Ontogenetic Color Change and Mating Cues in Largus californicus (Hemiptera: Largidae) is detailed, and it uses keywords to show the focus of the lab. People who are interested, or doing research on Largus Californicus or mating cues can quickly find this lab report and understand what information it will provide. Title of the second lab report Temperature and Pressure Measurement of an Ideal Gas That Is heated in a Closed Container is also very detailed, and it clearly indicates what would be the main focus of this lab. People who are doing research on ideal gas law can quickly find this lab report, and evaluate from the title that the report will provide experimental data of an ideal gas which was tested in a closed container.

The purpose of the abstract section in the lab report is to provide a short summary of the entire lab report. This is extremely helpful to researchers because it briefly allows them to see what the lab is about without going through the entire lab. The abstract of the lab report Ontogenetic Color Change and Mating Cues in Largus californicus (Hemiptera: Largidae) briefly summarizes each section of the lab report. It provides a summary of the background information on the ontogenetic color change and the purpose of the lab. The abstract also provides that the experiment was approached by switching female color patterns and timing the male’s decisions. At the end of the abstract, the writer confirms the null hypothesis by providing a brief summary of the results. The second lab report Temperature and Pressure Measurement of an Ideal Gas That Is heated in a Closed Container does not contain an abstract. This restricts the reader from quickly finding out if they found the right information or the right experiment that they were looking for.

Introduction of the first lab report Ontogenetic Color Change and Mating Cues in Largus californicus (Hemiptera: Largidae) provides background concepts which help the readers to understand the significance of the ontogenetic color change, and the reason for the experiment. It explained that in insects, the mating cues are chemical instead of visual but in Hemiptera species, the mating cues might be visual. Statements are backed by references to research on the appearance of Largus californicus. A more detailed purpose of the lab is given, for it is to see if the male Largus californicus use color cues and if the ontogenetic color change affects the male mating decision. The null hypothesis is also stated at the end of the introduction. It states that the dorsal color pattern does not really affect the male mating cues. This introduction will allow the reader to fully understand the further procedure and the results of the experiment. Introduction of the second lab report Temperature and Pressure Measurement of an Ideal Gas That Is heated in a Closed Container does not contain a lot of background information. The writer of the lab only stated that the ideal gas was heated in a closed container, causing the volume to remain constant, but the writer did not clarify how or with what the pressure was heated. In the middle of the introduction, the purpose of the lab can be found, for it states “The objective of the experiment is to test whether the ideal equation of state holds [1]”. The author provides the equation and identifies each variable in the equation. It would be better if an explanation of how the equation works and the correlation between each variable was given as a background information because it would increase the reader’s understanding of why or why not the ideal equation of state holds.

The materials and methods section in the first lab report Ontogenetic Color Change and Mating Cues in Largus californicus (Hemiptera: Largidae) provides very detailed methods that were performed during an experiment. This allows for the experiment to be performed by another researcher using the same methods and materials. The writer stated the materials that were used during the experiment in the procedure but did not list them. Factors about the controlled group and the experimental group were stated to be approximately the same, but were not specified. The materials and methods section is written in the past tense and in the passive voice. Materials and methods section for the second lab report Temperature and Pressure Measurement of an Ideal Gas That Is heated in a Closed Container is named as the procedures section. The methods are detailed enough but not all of the materials were stated in the procedures section. This means that the lab could be recreated by following the methods but if not the same materials are used, the outcome could be different because every equipment has its own uncertainty and errors in measurement.

The results section of the first lab Ontogenetic Color Change and Mating Cues in Largus californicus (Hemiptera: Largidae) presented the data in the text and referred to the tables which are after the references section. This section does not include interpretations of the results, and is written in the past tense. Possible errors and the outcome of the hypothesis are stated at the end of the section. The second lab report Temperature and Pressure Measurement of an Ideal Gas That Is heated in a Closed Container combined the results section with the discussion section. Since the results section is only supposed to state the outcomes of the lab and the discussion section is supposed to explain the results, combining the two will make data unorganized and hard to interpret. This section does not explain the purpose of the lab and does not state the outcome of the hypothesis made. It is written in the past tense and explains possible errors that led to the result.

First lab Ontogenetic Color Change and Mating Cues in Largus californicus (Hemiptera: Largidae) interprets the data in the discussion section. It provides a possibility of how males can distinguish between nymphs and adults because nymphs are more spherical. Suggestions for new experiments to address new questions on the nature of the communication between adults and nymphs is stated but not specified. Relevant research is also provided to give possible explanations for the male behaviour of Largus californicus.

The lab report Ontogenetic Color Change and Mating Cues in Largus californicus (Hemiptera: Largidae) is very persuasive and insightful because it provides a lot of details for the experiment and a lot of outside information that can help with understanding the behaviour of male Largus californicus. The second lab report Temperature and Pressure Measurement of an Ideal Gas That Is heated in a Closed Container was not very persuasive because it did not show that the author is very knowledgeable about the ideal gas law. This is because no background information was provided to explain the ideal gas equation. Both of the lab reports were written clear and contained headings which organized the information.

 

Reference

[1] Sample lab report from Virginia Tech’s website

Virginia Tech, “Temperature and Pressure Measurements of an Ideal Gas That Is Heated in a Closed Container,” in Sample Laboratory Report #2.