How to Keep Your Lab Journal

1. How to Keep Your Lab Journal

2. On The Cover CHEMISTRY-CANOVA _________ Period ___ YOUR NAME YOUR PERIOD

3. 1. ON THE INSIDE COVER -Write your lab partner(s) name,and contact info, email address, etc - -Also, in the upper right hand corner, write down your lab station number. Joe Schmo Lab:3 908-555-1234 h908-555-4321 cjschmo@email.comjschmo-aim24 Mockingbird Ln1-Chemistry Rm 2322-Chem Lab3-English Rm 206

4. 1 Joe Schmo Lab:3 908-555-1234 h908-555-4321 cjschmo@email.comjschmo-aim24 Mockingbird Ln1-Chemistry Rm 2322-Chem Lab3-English Rm 206 2. Number Your Pages -In the upper right hand corner, number the first 25 pages right now. -Do not number the back side of the pages.

5. 3. Table of Contents 1 Table of Contents TitlePage Safety Rules 3 Safety Map 4 Safety Equip 5 Instructions 6-10 LEGO 11  -Your Table of Contents should include the title of the lab and the page number in your journal where that lab begins. -Title the first two pages, Table of Contents Joe Schmo Lab:3 908-555-1234 h908-555-4321 cjschmo@email.comjschmo-aim24 Mockingbird Ln1-Chemistry Rm 2322-Chem Lab3-English Rm 206

6. 4. Lab Safety Contract 3     Staple the Lab Safety Rules Into Your Notebook. Onto Page 3 Safety Rules Folded in Half

7. 5. Lab Safety Map 4     Draw a map of the room and identify the location of all lab safety equipment that you see. Onto Page 4 TEACHER DESK

8. 6. Safety Equipment 5     List all of the safety equipment you just identified on the map, and explain its function. Onto Page 5 Goggles-eye protection Blanket-smother fire Etc……..

9. Class Notes Stay on page 5 of your Notebook • The following slides contain important information. • Write down this information in your lab notebook on the back of page 4. • Take notes on the left pages (class notes section). • Put examples on the right pages (pre-lab section). • If the left page contains notes, and nothing is written on the right page, draw an “X” through the right page. 8

10. How to Write?Example Prelab Entry EXAMPLE: 6 Date: 9/15/07 Partner: Suzie Que Title: How to Keep Your Lab Notebook Purpose: To investigate … Materials: (alphabetical) Safety: (see safety contract) Diagram:(not always needed) Class Notes How to Write in Lab Notebook      Write all pertinent information on the RIGHT pages. Save the LEFT pages for special instructions or notes.

11. How to Write? EXAMPLE: 7 Data/Calculations: Class Notes -All entries into lab notebook must be made in ink, NEATLY (BLUEor BLACK ink ONLY!). NO PENCILS (EVER). -Use a ruler to draw any tables/charts. -If a mistake is made, cross it out neatly with a single line - DO NOT USE WHITE-OUT

12. Pasting stuff in You may and should, when you can, carefully paste stuff into your journal. Including : Spreadsheet data charts and graphs with trend lines. You may use a camera to take pictures of your lab setup and reaction observations and paste the pictures into your Journal as long as they don't flop around.

13. On the Inside Back Cover Use a glue stick to paste in the Lab Techniques Checklist. I will initial each technique that you properly demonstrate through out the year. The checklist is also found at my chemistry web site.

14. REMINDERS 8 Class Notes -You must bring your prepared notebook to the laboratory or you will receive a zero on the prelab section (worth about 25% of total lab grade). -Only blue or black ink may be used, no pencil or different colored ink. No white-out. -No loose paper inside lab notebook.

15. Before the Lab: 9 BE SURE TO INCLUDE IN YOUR PRELAB: 1)Date2)Partner3)Title4)Purpose5)Materials6)Safety7)Diagram8)Anticipated Procedures9)Data/Calculations Class Notes EXAMPLE: SEE PAGE 6 Date: 9/15/07 Partner: Suzie Que Title: How to Keep Your Lab Notebook Purpose: To investigate … Materials: (alphabetical) Safety: (see safety contract) Diagram:(not always needed) Procedures Observations

16. Title The full title of the experiment should be clearly written on the first page of the lab notebook entry.

17. Introduction A brief (five- to ten-sentence) introduction to the experiment should be written at the top of the page. The introduction should state the goals and objectives of the laboratory and describe what data will be collected and how that data will be used to arrive at conclusions at the completion of the laboratory. If hypotheses can be made about the outcome of the experiment beforehand, they should be stated here.

18. Chemicals Table (or Reaction Table): Make a table of the chemicals (reagents, starting materials, etc.) that will be used during the experiment. List the chemicals and their formula, structure, molar mass and physical state. Make a note of any safety hazards identified in the lab’s written materials or the MSDS for each reagent below the table or as a column in the table. If it will be useful to know a reagent’s melting point, boililng point, density or other physical property, include that information as well. For experiments involving chemical reactions or where stoichiometry is important, the quantity of each reagent used should be listed and the number of moles (or millimoles) should be calculated for each quantity.

19. Calculations & Equations: Write out all relevant equations with variable definitions that are applicable to the experiment. Write out calculations that can be done ahead of time (e.g., determining the theoretical yield; determining limiting reagent).

20. Anticipated Procedure: Make a numbered list of the tasks that you must complete during the experiment. Including a list of materials and supplies you need.This list does not have to be exhaustive, but should accurately summarize all aspects of the procedure you are going to complete that day. During the lab, you may deviate from this outline as the requirements change in response to observations that you are making and data that your are collecting.

21. Example of a Pre-Lab Notebook Entry

22. Pre-lab cont.

23. Pre-Lab Cont.

24. During/After the Lab: Class Notes 10 1) Fill in observation section. 2) Collect and record data in table. 3) If time permits, start calculations. 4) Consider the focus of lab questions. 5) If required, a formal typed of lab report that contains, in addition to what you wrote in your lab notebook, a typed conclusion (more info on typed lab reports to follow).

25. In-Lab The in-lab section should be divided into two columns on each page for Procedure and Observations. The left-hand column will list your actual procedure that you followed during the experiment. The right-hand column will describe the observations that were made and will also contain data that you collected. The details in the Observation column should be written as closely to the procedural step where they were collected. When large amounts of data are to be collected or where it is necessary to construct graphs, a separate page for the Observations should also be used. Be sure to label graphs accurately including both y- and x-axis.

26. Procedure: The procedure listed in this column should be significantly more detailed than the outlined procedure listed in your pre-lab. Essentially, more details are required. Invariably some labs will require steps to be repeated, modified or eliminated based upon observations and collected data. These details should be included.

27. Observations Here, the more details you record, the more complete this sections will be. Use all of your senses—except taste!—when making observations. Make notes about the state of your reagents (e.g., physical state, color, smell) where appropriate, what happens when reagents are mixed (e.g., color changes, gas evolution), and temperature changes. Also, use this section to accurately record data that the manual asks you to collect during the experiment (e.g., masses, volumes, pH). Be as precise in your measurements as possible. If calculations are required in order to continue with the experiment, you may also do that math in this section while listing that procedural step in the Procedure section.

28. Post-Lab The primary function of the post-lab section is to analyze the data that was collected during the experiment to reach valid conclusions about the chemical phenomena that was investigated in the experiment. A complete post-lab should contain the following elements:

29. Questions Most experiments in the lab manual pose questions at the end of the manuscript. These should be answered carefully and completely.

30. Calculations If calculations are required using the data that was collected during the experiment, these should be clearly written here. Where applicable, write the full equation being used at the start of each calculuation. Show all work for full credit. Write any new chemical equations that are relevant.

31. Analysis and Conclusion Finally, your post-lab should contain a medium length paragraph stating the conclusions that you were able to reach during the laboratory experiment. These conclusions should be well supported by the data that you collected and by the calculations that were written in both the Observations column and the Calculations section above. In other words, analyze the data; explain how the results of the experiment(s) led you to the stated conclusions. Also, discuss whether any hypotheses that were postulated in the pre-lab section were supported or unsupported