For lab you will need the following information:
Laboratory Notebooks
The laboratory notebooks will be graded by each TA at the end of your assigned period. Your TA will be analyzing all your observations made, data collected, calculations, and results. All procedures should be outlined and should be sufficiently neat and organized so that another person can follow what you did. You are required to record all this information in ink in the Student Lab Notebook, which must contain carbon copy pages. At the end of each completed lab, sign and date each page and submit the copies to your lab instructor and they will sign each page and assign you a notebook grade.
The following guidelines should be adhered to for each laboratory notebook entry:
Before Lab: Complete the Mastering Chemistry Pre‐lab assignment. Read the entire lab packet and show up to lab with an open mind willing to learn. Write the Experiment Title and Purpose (one or two sentences in your own words). You do not need to outline the procedure in your lab notebook before lab.
During Lab: All of the formulas and equations you have been using in your general chemistry courses are the result of careful laboratory experiments that have been developed, performed, and reproduced time and time again. The details of these experiments can be found in the laboratory notebooks of the chemists who performed the original experiments. During the laboratory period you are required to write a narrative in your laboratory notebook. The narrative basically highlights the key points of what you did indicating all observations and results. Further details of what to include in the narrative will be discussed by your Teaching Assistant in the first lab period. Keeping and maintaining a proper laboratory notebook is one of the most essential skills you can acquire in this course. The lab notebook is the formally kept record of your experiment. It is a true representation of what you are doing in the laboratory. In industry, lab notebooks are the basis of patents, and if necessary, they can be used in a court of law to prove how a particular experiment was performed.
A few rules you must follow when maintaining a proper lab notebook:
*Never erase anything in the notebook. If you make a mistake, neatly cross it out with a single line.
*Never write in pencil.
*Write everything in the lab notebook and nothing in the lab manual. If you happen to make a mistake or spill something, write it down. If you observe a chemical or physical change, record it so you can identify it in future experiments. The comments written in the lab notebook will allow you to justify why your experimental values may vary. They also will allow you to compare your results to those of other students in the class.
*The lab manual not only provides value for you, but also for those who come after you. In a traditional general chemistry lab, you gain very little from merely reproducing the procedure in your lab notebook. If you happen to take all three quarters of general chemistry at Ohio State, you will be participating in some sort of research‐based laboratory experience. In these experiences, it is vital to record your procedure in a manner that a future student could easily follow it. We will refer to this portion of the lab as a narrative and further instructions on how to correctly write a narrative will be given by your teaching assistant.
*You should be able to perform and reproduce any calculations you write down in your lab notebook and if you were able to use your lab notebook on a quiz or exam, you should be able to answer any questions based on the content or procedure of the lab.
After Lab: Follow instructions in the handout given by your TA to complete the formal laboratory report. Complete the Report Questions assigned on Mastering Chemistry. Note: Your Report Questions are due at the assigned date regardless if you attend the lab.
Laboratory Reports
All formal laboratory reports are due at the beginning of the lab session one week after the completion of each lab. Late reports will be penalized 10% per day. If you submit a late report to the 2nd floor information desk on the 2nd floor of Celeste, you must notify your TA via e‐mail within one day after submission. Zero credit will be given to lab reports submitted after 2 weeks of completing each experiment.
Lastly, there will be example problems to complete during each laboratory period. I would recommend working these out in lab with your TA there to give guidance.
Dr. Fus Twitter