Writing a Lab Report
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Intermediate Chemistry Instructions for Laboratory Assignments
General Information At the top of your lab report or assignment, write your name, the name of your partner, and your section number. You must write your own lab reports and assignments. Do not copy someone else’s work. Do not copy the instruction sheet. Even if you get data in pairs or a group, show your own calculations and draw your own conclusions. Do not share files for any section of a lab report. Plagiarism will result in a zero for both students.
The lab report explains what you did in the experiment. It is written in SIMPLE, clear and exact language, with neither too much nor too little information, so that a fellow student could repeat your work. It must be typed, proofread and edited; proper use of English is part of your grade. You can write in information using a pen or pencil ONLY in the Calculations section. For any other parts of the lab or lab report, you may not write in anything. The lab instructions do not have to be turned in with your report.
Due Dates Lab assignments are due by 4:10 one week from the day of the experiment. You can turn in an assignment in class, bring it to my office (in room 254) or put it in my mailbox (Crane, Laura) in the main office. DO NOT leave lab assignments on the front desk in any of the chemistry classrooms. For each day a lab report is late, 5 points will be deducted. Lab reports that are more than one week late will not be accepted.
Parts of a Lab Report
For your lab report, you will be asked to include some or all of the following sections:
OBJECTIVE Include one or two sentences describing the goal of the experiment. Do NOT include background or introductory information!
MATERIALS This should be a list of ALL materials used in the experiment. Be specific about sizes of equipment used; for example, write 100-mL beaker, not just beaker. You do not need to state amounts of chemicals used. Think about the difference between size and amount.
PROCEDURE Write the procedure such that fellow students could reproduce your experiment exactly. Do not include mistakes, unless they explain why data is incomplete. The procedure is always written in the past tense, using passive voice. Write it in DOUBLE-SPACED PARAGRAPHS, not numbered steps. Do not use I, you, or we in the procedure. Read it to make sure it makes sense!
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(over) PROCEDURE cont. Examples of past tense, using passive voice: DON’T say: INSTEAD: We measured the mass of an object. The mass of an object was measured. Record the volume to the nearest 0.5 mL. The volume was recorded to the nearest 0.5 mL.
Things like wearing safety goggles, gathering materials, reading the instructions, and cleaning up when you are finished are not included in a procedure (unless there is specific care to be taken in the disposal of a hazardous chemical). These are things that will be done for EVERY lab, so it is understood to do them without having to write it down.
Words that should NEVER appear in your report: very, attained, about, taken, found Words to be used sparingly: then, next
DATA AND OBSERVATIONS List anything significant you observed during your experiment (i.e. color changes) as well as numerical data. Data is shown in a table or chart. Make sure measurements have the right number of significant figures. If the procedure says to record a mass to the nearest 0.1 g, check your data to make sure you have one decimal place.
CALCULATIONS You must always show your calculations. Use YOUR data to SHOW a calculation. Don’t just give the formula, but put in your numbers and give a result. If there are several calculations of the exact same type, give a sample calculation for the first one and just the results for the rest. Do not copy and paste the same calculation over and over.
RESULTS Provide a LIST of your results. This will be a short section.
ANSWERS to Lab Questions Give answers to any questions asked at the end of the lab instructions. If a question asks about sources of error, that means to give possible factors that make your results different from accepted values.
Some tips for Microsoft Word: subscripts press
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