LAB NOTEBOOK REQUIREMENTS

Chemistry - Mr. Lenczycki

Bound lab notebooks are required for chemistry. Because of the nature of science, spiral notebooks and three ring binders are not acceptable.

A specific format will be required for lab reports so that a permanent record is written and recorded. The justification for maintaining a lab notebook includes reinforcement of the scientific process and as a form of assessment.

FORMAT FOR ALL LABS:

1. Original data must be dated and in pen, on the left side.

2. The right hand side of the notebook is to be used for the formal lab report.

3. The left-hand side of the notebook may also be used to take notes or to document important lab items. They should be dated.

4. Pages need to be numbered in the upper right hand corner.

5. The first page of the notebook will serve as a Table of Contents and must include all lab titles and page numbers.

SPECIFICS FOR LAB REPORTS:

I. Title - catchy

II. Purpose - one or two complete sentences, stating the purpose for doing the lab.

III. Procedure - step by step instructions, including modifications, of exactly how you did the experiment. Someone reading the procedure should be able to duplicate your experiment and get similar results. Brevity is the soul of wit. A picture is worth 1000 words. Footnote when appropriate. For labs in which a procedure is provided in advance, a paragraph that reflects an understanding of the procedure should be completed prior to lab day.

IV. Results - include all data, tables, graphs, and calculations.

V. Discussion/Conclusion - this is the heart of your lab report, so the majority of the lab points will depend on this section. The discussion (or conclusion, whichever you would like to call it) should be in paragraph form with proper sentence structure, indentation, and grammar. Here you are to once again report your important results (did you accomplish the Purpose?) and percent difference if appropriate. Discuss the significance of your results (does it make sense?) and explain how your results fit into the "big picture." Insights into the experiment are appropriate. What were the errors in your experiment? How would you modify the experiment to be more accurate? What would you have done differently? Are you satisfied with your results? Can you propose a different experiment that would have been better, or perhaps the next experiment that would "take it to the next level?" Make sure you answer any specific questions pertaining to the lab.

Some labs will be graded over all of the above. In many cases, though, only certain sections of a given lab may be graded.