Strain Gauge report

ME 3113 Measurements and Instrumentation Laboratory Fall 2015

Report Rubric

• Font

o 12 Point Times New Roman for main body of the report

o Section Headings should be 14 Point Times New Roman

• Formatting

o Report should be written entirely in third person passive

o 1.5 Line Spacing

o Justified Edges

o 1” Margins

o Do NOT indent the first line of each paragraph

o No bullet points in report

o The body of the report should be written in paragraph form using complete sentences.

o Figures, Tables, and Equations go in the appendix and are NOT to be imbedded in the body

of the report.

o Page Numbers go on the top right of the page with the following format, no page number on

the cover page, Abstract has page number i, Table of Contents has page number ii for the

first page and iii for the second page if applicable, Introduction through Conclusion are

numbered 1, 2, 3, 4……. , Appendix is numbered A1, A2, A3, A4……….

• Reports needs to have the following sections in the following order

o Cover Page

o Abstract

o Table of Contents

o Introduction

o Procedure

o Results and Discussion

o Conclusion

o Appendix

• Cover Page – Must contain the following Information

o Title of the Lab Experiment

o Written By: Your Full Name

o Lab Partner: Your Lab Partner’s Full Name

o Date Performed: January 19, 2015 Put the date you started the experiment

o Due Date: January 21, 2015 Put the date that the report is due on

o The University of Texas at San Antonio

o Mechanical Engineering Department

o ME 3113 Measurements and Instrumentation

o Fall 2015

o Section: Letter A through I depending on what lab section you are in

o Instructor: Dr. Victor Maldonado

o Lab Assistants: Jacob Byrd

Gregory Dannheim

Joshua Ward

o You may include a simple graphic on your cover page but it must be professional

• Abstract – Must contain the following information

o Purpose of the lab experiment

o What you did

o What you found

o What do your findings mean / why the reader should care

o General Engineering Significance (General application of the theory applied in the

experiment)

o ½ Page Max

- The Abstract should not contain any of the following

o Numerical Values

o References to Figures, Tables, Equations, or work cited

- The Abstract should be treated as a stand-alone document, which gives general statements on the

experiments purpose, procedure, outcome, and why the reader should care.

Table of Contents Abstract ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i

Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1

Procedure --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2

Results and Discussion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4

Conclusion -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6

Appendix ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A1

List of Tables

Table 1: Force Measurements ------------------------------------------------------------- A1

Table 2: Calculated Force Values --------------------------------------------------------- A1

Table 3: Error Analysis --------------------------------------------------------------------- A2

List of Figures

Figure 1: Force vs. Time Chart ------------------------------------------------------------ A2

Figure 2: LabVIEW Block Diagram ------------------------------------------------------ A3

Figure 3: Circuit Diagram ------------------------------------------------------------------ A4

List of Equations

Equation 1: Force ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- A4

Equation 2: Percent Error ------------------------------------------------------------------ A5

Equation 3: Uncertainty Analysis --------------------------------------------------------- A5

References -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A6

ii

Introduction The introduction should contain all background information necessary to complete the experiment.

Examples:

-If you used a caliper during the experiment, discuss the tolerance of the caliper, and possibly

reference a figure showing how the caliper was read.

-If you did analysis on a population of data, discuss the purpose of the analytical methods used and

any information necessary to perform the analysis.

-If you performed circuit analysis discuss KVL, KCL, Ohm’s Law, and any other pertinent theory

or laws.

- All software and hardware used in the experiment needs to be discussed with emphasis on the

most troublesome areas of the experiment.

If you feel the need to explain why you did something or what a word means when writing other

sections of the report, then you should include that information in the intro instead.

Introduction is max 1 page (If you are having trouble fitting all the pertinent information onto one

page, put the information that would be the most helpful to someone trying to complete the lab)

In the intro you can reference Figures, Equations, and cited sources.

Procedure Begins immediately after the Introduction (don’t start the Procedure on next page unless the

Introduction fills all of page 1)

The Procedure should be a step-by-step account of what you did to complete the entire lab

experiment. The Procedure has no limit on length and needs to be detailed enough to allow the reader

to complete the experiment and get the same results that you did. At the same time it shouldn’t be so

detailed that the reader doesn’t want to read it. For the reports in this class your procedure should

only need to be around 1½ pages. Do not rewrite the instructions in the lab manual. Write (in

paragraph form) what you did in your own words. Make sure to include any issues you came across

during the experiment with procedural steps on how you overcame these issues. Remember the entire

report should be written in third person passive. Write the Procedure as what was done not what

someone else should do. You should reference Figures (pictures you took of the experiment setup)

and Equations that are pertinent to the procedure of the experiment. For example if you are giving the

procedural steps on constructing a circuit, reference a Figure showing the circuit diagram or picture

of the physical circuit. If you reference something in the procedure in needs to be pertinent, not fluff

to expand the procedure. Do not reference Tables in the Procedure.

1

Results and Discussion The Results and Discussion (R&D) section of the report carries the highest weight out of all the

sections. In the R&D section you need to include:

• Representative Numerical Values from the theoretical and experimental data sets

• Need to reference every Table from the Appendix

• Error analysis with discussion on the cause of these errors

• Discussion of how the results (data points and analytical results) coincide with the expected

experiment outcome

• Discussion of the assertions made from your data and analysis

Conclusion The conclusion is the summary of the entire report and should include general statements on the

following:

• The purpose of the lab experiment

• Your data and analysis including error

• The outcome of the experiment

• A specific engineering significance (Specific application of the skills and techniques learned

in the experiment)

• Max 5 sentences

• There should be no numerical values or references in the conclusion

2

Appendix In the appendix you will have the following sections in the following order:

• Tables

• Figures

• Equations

• References

Each section should start on its own page with the section heading at the top of the page.

The entire appendix should be left aligned including the section headings.

Page Numbers should be on top right starting with A1

Tables - You need to have Tables for all data and values in the experiment

- Should be organized and preferably color coded

- Each Table should be labeled and titled Table 1: Title

- The Tables label and title should be above the Table and left aligned

- Should contain column/row titles including units

- Make sure you pay attention to your significant figures

- If Excel is used you need to have separate Tables showing the Excel code. These Tables

must also be referenced.

Figures - You need to have Figures for everything you did in the experiment (circuit diagrams,

pictures, charts, graphs, block diagrams………)

- Figure labels and titles go below the Figure and left aligned

- Also include Figures that assist in explaining the procedure

Equations - Include any Equations used in the experiment

- All your Equations should be formatted the same (Font, Size, Structure)

- Every equation needs to have its variables defined

- Every variable in an equation needs to be defined even if it was defined in a previous

equation

References - Any source used for the experiment or report needs to cited in MLA format labeled as

[1], [2], [3],…………… All references need to be cited in the body of your report.

The following page shows example pages on how you should format your appendix

! A1!

Appendix

Tables Table 1: Circuit 1 Voltage Values

! A2!

Figures

Figure 1: Circuit 1 Diagram

! A3!

Equations

Equation 1: Ohm’s Law

! A4! ! References

[1] Crane."Flow of Fluids, Through Valves Fittings and Pipe." Technical Paper No. 410

(2013): 2-24. Print.

[2] Kundu, Pijush K., and Ira M. Cohen."Internal Flow."Fluid Mechanics. 4th ed. Burlington:

Elsevier, 2007. Print.

  Referencing Tables, Figures, Equations, and Citations Every Table, Figure, Equation, and Citation needs to be referenced in the body of the report at least

once. Examples: The current measurements from circuit 1 can be found in Table 1.

The voltage across the 330 ohm resistor was measured as 2.54 volts (Table 2).

Circuit 2 was constructed in Multisim, as shown in Figure 2.

Following Ohm’s Law (Equation 2) the theoretical voltage was calculated.

For Citations: In the body of your report you need to cite all the sources you used. Do note use quotes in the body of

the report. Write the information in your own words. Example: Ohm’s law governs the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance [1].

[1] Represents the citation number on your references page.

Third Person Passive Means: Write about what was done not what you did or what someone else should do.

Do not use the following words: I, us, we, our, you, me, they, them………etc.

This is a general rubric for all lab reports used in M&I but additional formatting and components may

be necessary for individual lab reports.