7.5: Formal Lab Report

This assignment is worth 15 % of your final lab grade. The directions are included here with a detailed rubric found here: formal lab write-up rubric. As I grade each assignment while viewing a rubric, I suggest writing the assignment while looking at the rubric.

Overview:

• The assignment MUST be typed.
• Graphs and data MUST be included within the text of the document (not attached at the end).
• Formatting of compounds and equations MUST be done with the equation editor.
• All sections must be indicated with a title and possible formatting change.
• All material not common knowledge MUST be cited (both within the text and in a works-cited section).
• Formatting of references both within the text and within the works cited section must be consistent. Please do not use footnotes.
• Reports are considered FORMAL or professional documents. Language, punctuation, grammar and all other aspects of communication should be done in a professional manner.
• Pronouns should not be used (instead use an understood third person).

Required Sections: (Every paper should include the following sections in the following order)

• Title
  • This section should occupy ~ ¼ of a page.
  • The title should be original, not copied from the lab handout provided.
  • The date the experiment was performed should be included.
  • The authors name should be listed first.
  • Lab partners’ names should also be included.

• Background
  • This section should include 1-3 paragraphs of what the experiment is about and relevant real world applications. Why is it important you perform this experiment? How would this concept be applied in industry? Try to apply it to your own future career or life experiences.
  • This material will NOT reference your lab handout and should use scholarly literature (or possibly periodicals) as references.
  • The last paragraph of this section should contain a brief (1-2 sentences) description of the overall purpose of the experiment.
  • The last sentence should include a hypothesis (an if-then statement that reveals your understanding of the experiment and the concepts related). The hypothesis should be directly related to the experimental protocol and testable within the confines of the procedure (consider looking at the calculations done or the point of each part of the lab for ideas).

• Objectives
  • This section should occupy ~ ¼ of a page.
  • The objectives in your lab handout should NOT be copied. While your objectives may be similar they should be your own terminology and language. ANY IDEA or term that is not your original intellectual material should be cited.
  • The objectives you choose to use MUST represent the experiment.
  • You should have a minimum of 2-4 objectives.
  • Objectives should use chemical and scientific language and be at a college level.

• Materials
  • The materials, including all chemicals, equipment and instrumentation, should be reported with detailed formulas, quantities and in the order used in the experiment.

• Procedures
  • This section may take ½ to 1.5 pages.
  • The protocol used for the experiment should be reported in paragraph form.
  • The steps should be reworded to make the ENTIRE procedure in the words of the author.
  • The procedures should be detailed enough to be replicated by any individual who reads the report.
  • The protocol cannot be considered original material and will most-likely have more citations than other sections of the report.

• Data/Results
  • This section should take 2-3 pages.
  • The results for each section of the experiment should be reported (in order) with a thorough documentation for each.
  • Data tables and graphs should be included as necessary to document the experimental results.
  • These tables or graphs should be formatted originally and not copied from the lab handout as not all information within the handout may be as crucial as within the lab handout itself. (For example, you should not include the line for instructor approval of set-up).
  • Example calculations must be included for any calculation done for the results.
  • Calculations should be included in the correct format (all units, significant figures, and chemical formulas should be accurate) and entered with the equation editor within Microsoft Word.
  • Calculations should be explained as well as presented. (Do not include a calculation without giving a short ~1 sentence description of its purpose).

• Analysis
  • This section should take 1-3 paragraphs.
  • Thorough analysis of the overall meaning of the data section is included here.
  • What did the experiment find? What concentrations were calculated? Etc. (Consider addressing each section in order, but especially make sure you discuss Parts B-D).
  • A discussion of errors/percent errors is included here. These errors should be specific to your lab group and should specifically mention how each would have affected your results. (For example if your laboratory data gave mol H+ : mol citric acid as 3.4 you would NOT say “The indicator contributed to errors.” – instead say “The endpoint was overshot, as indicated by a dark pink color which explains our error in calculating the acidic nature of citric acid.”)
  • The analysis should indicate whether your hypothesis was proven or disproven by the protocol (as well as how reliable you believe the data to be).
  • A discussion of how to improve the protocol is included.

• Conclusions
  • This section is ~ 1 paragraph.
  • The conclusions section should recap the overall ideas of the lab, including what your results were. Usually this is done in 1-2 sentences.
  • Specifically mention the concentration of acid in the beverage used.
  • A reader should be able to gather the entire take away message of the lab from this section.

• Works Cited
  • Although citations are included THROUGHOUT the paper whenever information of another’s intellectual property is included, a work-cited page MUST be included.
  • All references should be scholarly. While you may use Wikipedia, blogs, google and other data bases, these references do NOT count towards the references accredited to the paper.
  • 2-5 references should be included in ADDITION to Wikipedia, the laboratory handout and other non-academic sources.
  • All references should be correctly formatted in the work cited section. For example, they should have the author names, editor or co-author names, publishers, date, title, copyright, page numbers and all other applicable information. If the source is available online, a URL should be included as well.
  • Remember to cite the original author of a work rather than an author who is using another person’s work.

Contributors and Attributions

CC licensed content, Original

• College Chemistry 1. Authored by: Jessica Garber-Morales. Provided by: Tidewater Community College. Located at: http://www.tcc.edu/. License: CC BY: Attribution