– This article was written in collaboration with Saloni (G11) – 

If you’ve ever done a lab in science class, you’ll definitely be able to relate to what you’re about to see:

• Donning your lab coat and pretending that you’re a professional scientist.

 

• When you know nothing but you nod because you’re supposed to do SOMETHING!

 

• Aaaand the teacher ends up having to do the whole lab themselves by “demonstrating” it to the class *heave a tiny sigh of relief*

• Then comes the lab report.

• When the personal engagement is not so personal.

• Procrastinating so much and having to do the background research and hypotheses AFTER the lab.

• Not knowing the difference between background research and scientific research.

• When you forget to take qualitative observations, so you hound your classmates for pictures and describe in exceptionally vivid detail what you see in those pictures.

• There’s nothing more satisfying than rejecting the null hypothesis.

• Changing the data “slightly” so that you can point out a pattern.

• Trying to come up with five sources of errors, and determining their significance, as if your life depended on it.

• When “more trials” is always an improvement.

• Coming up with a nonsensical conclusion to make sense of your “interesting” data and using “reliable” sources to back your work.

• Putting more effort into the cover page than the whole lab combined.

• Bringing out your inner VA student when customising and choosing colour schemes for your graphs.

• Changing the “date of access” on the Works Cited. Admit it.

Have we missed anything? Let us know in the comments below!