Lab Reports in Chemistry The purpose of a lab notebook is to keep a record of what occurs in an experiment.

If you don’t have detailed records of what occurred during an experiment, it never happened.

How to Maintain a Lab Notebook Do not remove pages. Lab books should have pages that are sewn and not spiral-bound (but spiral will work for this class, it’s cheaper). Don’t obliterate mistakes. Draw a simple line through any mistakes or changes so the original words or numbers can still be seen. No white-out! ONLY use black or blue ink pens for data, no markers or pencils

How to Maintain a Lab Notebook Write legibly, especially for numbers. “Hmm…Is that a six or a zero?” Date whenever new entries are made. Use both sides of paper (or not) it’s up to you. Page numbers must be in the top corner of each page. Devote pages 1 & 2 to a table of contents (updated as you go)

General Rules for a Lab Notebook Write clearly so a stranger could understand. Write down what is necessary for a person to replicate your experiment. A picture is worth a thousand words.

TitleDate Purpose Short sentence of the goal of the lab. Experiment Contains all procedures, experimental setup and data. Always write so a stranger could understand. All data should be described and have units – for example, volume of test tube = 60.2 mL Parts of a Lab Report

Parts of a Lab Report (cont’d) Analysis Contains calculations and/or graphs. Putting the data to use. Results Short statement of what was found – relates to the Purpose. Questions Answers to any additional questions.

Other… If you are gone during the Experiment (data collection) of a lab you need to do a lab worksheet instead. If you are gone during the Analysis of a lab, but have data from the previous day, you need to finish the analysis on your own. Questions on a test can often relate to experiments.