The document outlines the guidelines for writing formal lab reports for CHM1010-Chemistry I, emphasizing the importance of clear communication of scientific findings. It details the required components of the report, including the title page, abstract, introduction, experimental methods, data/results, calculations, discussion questions, and conclusions. Grading criteria include significant figures, laboratory technique, grammar, and adherence to a formal writing style.
The document outlines the guidelines for writing formal lab reports for CHM1010-Chemistry I, emphasizing the importance of clear communication of scientific findings. It details the required components of the report, including the title page, abstract, introduction, experimental methods, data/results, calculations, discussion questions, and conclusions. Grading criteria include significant figures, laboratory technique, grammar, and adherence to a formal writing style.
The document outlines the guidelines for writing formal lab reports for CHM1010-Chemistry I, emphasizing the importance of clear communication of scientific findings. It details the required components of the report, including the title page, abstract, introduction, experimental methods, data/results, calculations, discussion questions, and conclusions. Grading criteria include significant figures, laboratory technique, grammar, and adherence to a formal writing style.
The document outlines the guidelines for writing formal lab reports for CHM1010-Chemistry I, emphasizing the importance of clear communication of scientific findings. It details the required components of the report, including the title page, abstract, introduction, experimental methods, data/results, calculations, discussion questions, and conclusions. Grading criteria include significant figures, laboratory technique, grammar, and adherence to a formal writing style.
The ability to write lab reports and other technical documents is an important skill to develop. These documents are vital to being able to communicate your ideas and findings to others, be it colleagues or other stakeholders. Being able to organize your thoughts and data into a concise, informative document will serve you well in whatever future positions you may have.
Formal reports are meant to mimic scientific reports. These are more detailed and elaborate than the informal reports you have done before, because of this, they are worth twice as much as the informal reports. Formal reports are to be done individually and should be typed (except for calculations, which may be neatly handwritten if you prefer). The due date for formal reports will be announced during the lab period that the experiment is conducted but will be due roughly 1.5 weeks after the experiment is performed. A hard copy of the report is to be handed in on the announced due date.
Formal Lab Report Components: Please include page numbers in your report
• Title Page- center the following information on a separate first page:
1. The title of the experiment 2. Course number (CHM1010) and section number 3. The date the experiment was performed 4. Your name 5. Your partner’s name (on a separate line-I should be able to tell whose report I am reading) 6. Your instructor’s name • Abstract- at the top of the first page: This is the first (and maybe only) thing your reader will read, so you want it to be concise and meaningful. It can be helpful to write this section last, as it will be a condensed version/summary of your entire report. The abstract should be one paragraph that answers each of the following questions (as a guideline, you should be able to address each of the following statements in 2-3 sentences): 1. What did you set out to do (i.e., what was the purpose of the experiment)? 2. How did you do it (i.e., briefly list what techniques you used-avoid descriptions of the techniques)? 3. What were your significant findings (this should include any statements that can be made about uncertainty and/or error comments/estimates)? 4. What are your conclusions? • Introduction- 1. Purpose or objective-state the question asked in the experiment, as well as a general purpose for the experiment. 2. Background/theory for the experiment-explain how the question above is going to be answered and why this particular way is going to work. It should include all related balanced chemical equations. Cited information should include the source. CHM1010-Chemistry I Formal Report Guidelines Dr. Barrett 3. Hypothesis for the experiment-what do you expect you will learn or find? (not a specific result, but rather a general, widely applicable concept or trend) • Experimental- 1. Equipment list- list any reagents and any instruments used (this can be in a bulleted list) 2. If you find it would add clarity, you may draw the experimental setup 3. Procedure for the experiment- if you performed the procedure exactly as described in the lab manual, you can simply cite the lab manual appropriately. You should comment on any alterations/variations you performed or experienced that might affect the results. • Data/Results- 1. Raw data collected should be tabulated into tables that are easy to follow 2. Experimental description (what happened?) and observations 3. If applicable, properly formatted graphs should be provided in this section- graphs should always include a title, axis titles (with units), and axes values should be selected so that data takes up >75% of the graph space. • Calculations- 1. Required calculations to be performed for each experiment are detailed in the calculations section of the respective experiment in your lab manual. These may be either typed or neatly handwritten. Ensure that they are well-narrated so that anyone could recognize what you were calculating and how. If you feel it enhances the readability of your report, you may include a summary table of calculated values (you still must show your work elsewhere in this section). If literature values are referenced for error calculations, you should cite your source. You should also pay attention to significant figures, units, and consistent notations. • Discussion Questions- 1. Answer assigned discussion questions-consult the posted grading rubric • Discussion and Conclusions- 1. Summarize your results. This should include any numerical values, significant observations, or key findings from your experiment, as well as the numerical results from any error calculations performed. You should also ensure that you provide a full, clear answer to the question initially stated in the experiment (purpose statement/objective) and comment on how the results compare to your early hypothesis. 2. In 1-2 sentences describe the quality of your results. Was your experiment successful? Do your results align with the expected results? Relate obtained values to literature values whenever possible (always cite any literature values) and avoid including opinions here. 3. Error analysis: o List at least two experimental errors that happened (or could have happened). Do not include human error or faulty measurement/equipment unless there is a specific explanation (e.g., some product was spilled). CHM1010-Chemistry I Formal Report Guidelines Dr. Barrett o Choose one of the errors and describe how it would affect your results. If it affects a calculated value, does the error increase or decrease your final calculated value? You can run a test calculation to see what effects different errors will have on results.
Other considerations I will use when grading formal reports:
❖ Significant figures ❖ Laboratory technique ❖ Grammar and spelling ❖ Writing should be done in the past tense ❖ Writing has no/minimal first-person use (no “I”, “We”, “Our”, etc.) ❖ No opinions present in the writing
