University of Vermont - Department of Physics last updated: 4/1/2011
Writing an abstract of your experiment:
A Scientific Abstract is really an advertisement for your research intended for an audience with a general scientific knowledge similar to your own:
Like an advertisement - it should be to-the-point, and give a complete picture of what was done and the results in as few words as possible.
It should briefly explain how the experiment was done, including a brief explanation (not a list) of what the equipment was and how it was used, what data was taken, and how the analysis was done (including formulas that were specific to the task).
It should include the specific results obtained and explain why they are relevant (ie., by comparing them with accepted values, explaining how they reinforce or refute a theory, or how they offer additional insight into the phenomena being studied).
Abstract Style
Considerations: Abstracts should be typewritten in a impersonal (3rd person)
narrative (not outline) style as it is generally easier to be concise
when writing in a less conversational style. Use past tense - because what
is being described will have taken place by the time your abstract is read.
Formulas should be mentioned in complete sentences that explain their
relevance. Use Blackboard's "WebEq" equation editor (accessed from the second row of menu items in the quiz submission window) to properly construct algebraic
equations. Your abstract should
be organized for clarity. Be concise! Combine items that make better sense
when read together. Do not separate purpose(s), measurements, and
conclusions, and never include headings or references in an abstract as they
must stand alone.
Limit your abstracts
to less than 150 words in length, and always proof-read what you have written,
checking for clarity, proper spelling and grammar.
(this sample is a composite with excerpts from the abstracts of several different Physics 22 students in years past. Please note that this represents only one of many ways to write a good abstract, and you should be view it only as an example, not as a model to be followed exactly)
Equipotential and electric field lines were mapped for two different patterns of conductors drawn with silver ink on slightly conducting paper in order to determine how the lines were related to each other and the shape and spacing of the conductors. A probe attached to a sensitive electrometer was set to give a null reading (zero potential difference) when moving along an equipotential line. Several different equipotential lines at equally-spaced voltage increments were mapped, and found to run nearly parallel to the conductors when close to them. Different electric field lines were mapped by "walking" a probe along in the direction of greatest change in potential. The electric field lines were found to run from the positive to the negative conductor, as expected, and were found to be perpendicular to both the conductors and any equipotential lines they crossed. The more closely spaced the equipotential or field lines were, as near sharply bending conductor surfaces, the stronger the electric field was in that region.