Writing a Summary of Results

A summary of results is just like it sounds. It is a summary or review of the data or results in the experiment. The summary does not necessarily have to include every single piece of data, especially if there are many data entries, but should include the most important or relevant to the experiment. The high and low, the average, and the most consistent results are some examples of results that could be included in the summary of results paragraph. It is important to note that there is no explanation in the summary as that is saved for the conclusion.

Here is one example:

Results

The bottle filled one-third amount of water had 90 pumps of air. The bottle flew for 10.5 seconds. It went the highest and the longest. The bottle filled with one-half amount of water had 80 pumps of air and it flew for 5.4 seconds. This bottle went straight up and did two flips. The bottle filled with two-thirds amount of water had 72 pumps of air and flew for 4.3 seconds.  This bottle flew to the left. The bottle filled with three-fourths amount of water had 50 pumps of air and flew for 3.5 seconds. The bottle that was full of water had 18 pumps of air and flew for 1.5 seconds. It barely got off the ground.

Here is another explanation from Williamsclass.com Science Fair Guide http://www.williamsclass.com/ScienceFair/ScienceFairResults.htm

Your results should follow these guidelines:

1. Include what you wanted to accomplish and prove during your experiment.
2. Describe and report what you discovered. Be sure to include any data that might have been collected. It is important to show this data even if it did not support your hypothesis. The process of completing the experiment with true data is what is important.
3. The function of the Results section is to objectively present your key results, without interpretation.

Fill in the blanks below to create a quality Results page.

The original purpose of this experiment was to _____________________

The results of the experiment were ____________________________

Example From: http://www.murrieta.k12.ca.us/cms/lib5/CA01000508/Centricity/Domain/843/Example-Balloon_Write-up.doc 

The balloons with one-candle power had flight times of 14.2 seconds, 15.1 seconds, 14.8 seconds, and 15.1 seconds for an average of 14.8 seconds. The balloons with two-candle power had flight times of 12.6, 13.2, 13.0, and 13.2 seconds, for an average of 13.0 seconds. The three-candled balloons had times of 11.2, 10.4, 10.2, and 9. 8 seconds for an average time of 10.4 seconds. Therefore the number of candles determined the speed at which the balloon rose: three candles were quickest, two candles second, and the single candle balloon the slowest.