Organization Version Control

Laboratory Manual Organization

This laboratory manual is organized in three parts:

Part 1 is laboratory experiments. These are available to instructors for laboratory class assignments. There are more experiments than are necessary for most classes, so students may not do all experiments in this manual.

Part 2 is laboratory techniques. These techniques are sometimes used in multiple experiments. They are available for both reference and supporting instructions on laboratory experiments.

Part 3 is for supplemental documents. This section is for more detailed explanations, additional problems sets, and abridged reporting sheets for specific experiments. This section is intended for faculty to add customized supplemental documents.

Experiments are numbered in the sequential order they were prepared. There is no particular relevance to the sequential numbering scheme. Experiments primarily intended for the Los Medanos College Chemistry 25 course begin with a ‘25’. Experiments primarily intended for the Chemistry 26 course begin with a ‘26’. Faculty may assign experiments as appropriate across both courses. Many of these experiments have two versions: ‘traditional’ and ‘inquiry’. The numbering scheme includes a ‘T’ or an ‘I’ to indicate which version is present. Refer to the appropriate course syllabus for which experiments are being assigned by your instructor.

Pagination is done within each experiment and technique.

Version Control

Because this laboratory manual is intended to be improved over time, all documents use version control. Users of this manual should be aware of how version control has been implemented. In the upper right hand area of all pages, there is a version number. Version numbers are changed when a revision is done, and are also incorporated into the filenames of the individual experiments. The magnitude of the difference done during an update will determine how much the version number is changed.

A minor change such as a misspelled word would cause the version to change in the third place. For example, if an experiment went from version 1.3.2 to 1.3.3, it indicates a minor change between the two versions.

A moderate change, such as adding a section or changing a diagram or photograph would cause the version to change in the second place, and resetting the third place. For example, a technique changed from version 1.2.5 to version 1.3 indicates that a significant change occurred, but that the underlying procedure is similar.

A major change, such as a full rewrite of the procedure, would be a large and significant change. For example, a change from version 2.3.4 to version 3 would indicate that the two versions are fundamentally different.

The most current version of experiments and techniques will be offered as the individual file (available for uploading to Canvas). An annual update is planned for a single production file for easy printing.