За эту лабораторную можно получить максимум десять баллов, а мне не хватило одного балла до отличной оценки.

Here за means for in the sense of for this piece of work / on this assignment.

So за эту лабораторную means for this lab assignment / for this lab report.

In Russian, за + accusative is very common when talking about:

• getting a grade for something
• receiving points for some task
• rewarding or punishing someone for something

Examples:

• Получить пять за экзамен = to get a five for the exam
• Мне дали баллы за проект = I was given points for the project

Because лабораторная is being used as a shortened noun.

The full phrase is лабораторная работа = lab work / lab assignment / lab report.
In everyday Russian, people very often drop работа and just say:

• лабораторная
• контрольная
• самостоятельная

These are originally adjectives, but they are commonly used as nouns.

So:

• эту лабораторную literally comes from эту лабораторную работу

Because лабораторная is feminine, and here it is in the accusative singular.

The phrase is governed by за, and in this meaning за takes the accusative.

Case breakdown:

• nominative: эта лабораторная
• accusative: эту лабораторную

So:

• за эту лабораторную

Можно creates an impersonal construction, which is extremely common in Russian.

Можно получить means:

• it is possible to get
• one can get
• you can get

It sounds more general and less direct than ты можешь получить.

Compare:

• За эту лабораторную можно получить максимум десять баллов = In general, the maximum available is ten points.
• За эту лабораторную ты можешь получить максимум десять баллов = You can get at most ten points for this assignment.

The version with можно is more neutral and natural in this context.

Because the sentence is talking about the result of receiving points, not the ongoing process.

• получать = to be receiving / to receive repeatedly
• получить = to receive, to get, as a completed result

In this sentence, the idea is:

• the maximum result you can end up with is ten points

So получить is the natural choice.

Максимум here functions like at most / maximum / no more than.

So:

• максимум десять баллов = ten points maximum / at most ten points

This is a very common informal-to-neutral way to speak.

You could also see:

• не больше десяти баллов
• максимально десять баллов

But максимум десять баллов is very natural.

Also, баллов is in the genitive plural because after numerals like пять, шесть, десять, Russian normally uses genitive plural:

• десять баллов

This is an important distinction.

• балл = a point, score unit
• оценка = a grade / mark

So in the sentence:

• десять баллов = ten points available for the assignment
• отличная оценка = an excellent grade

In other words, the speaker is saying that they were one point short of the grade they wanted.

This is a very common Russian pattern.

хватить / не хватить means:

• to be enough
• to suffice
• to fall short

The person who experiences the lack is usually in the dative:

• мне = to me / for me

So:

• мне не хватило literally means something like to me, it was not enough

This sounds strange in English if translated word-for-word, but it is completely normal in Russian.

Similar examples:

• Мне хватило времени = I had enough time
• Мне не хватило денег = I didn’t have enough money

Because хватить / не хватить normally takes the thing that is sufficient or insufficient in the genitive.

So:

• не хватило одного балла = one point was lacking / I was short one point

Case breakdown:

• nominative: один балл
• genitive: одного балла

This is one of the key patterns to learn with хватать / хватить:

• хватило времени
• не хватило сил
• не хватило одного балла

Here до + genitive means up to / as far as / short of reaching something.

So:

• не хватило одного балла до отличной оценки = one point was lacking to reach an excellent grade

A more literal English phrasing would be:

• I was one point short of an excellent grade

This is a very common Russian pattern:

• не хватило двух очков до победы = they were two points short of victory
• не хватило немного до рекорда = it fell just short of a record

Because до requires the genitive case.

The base form is:

• отличная оценка = an excellent grade

After до, it becomes:

• до отличной оценки

Case breakdown:

• nominative: отличная оценка
• genitive: отличной оценки

А here marks a contrast.

The first part gives the general situation:

• За эту лабораторную можно получить максимум десять баллов

The second part gives the speaker’s personal outcome:

• а мне не хватило одного балла до отличной оценки

So а is like:

• and yet
• while
• but

It is not always a strong but like но. Very often а simply sets up a contrast or comparison.

Yes. Russian word order is flexible, though the emphasis changes.

For example, these are possible:

• Мне не хватило одного балла до отличной оценки.
• Одного балла мне не хватило до отличной оценки.
• До отличной оценки мне не хватило одного балла.

The original version sounds natural because:

1. it first states the general maximum score
2. then contrasts that with the speaker’s result

So the original word order is not random; it helps the sentence flow logically.