Lab Notebooks:

Lab notebooks need to be permanently bound notebooks, not loose-leaf paper or spiral notebooks.  The use of a duplicate page notebook is fine, but not necessary.  If you use a duplicate page notebook, you can hand in the duplicate page for grading, while keeping the notebook in your possession.  For regular bound notebooks, either turn in the entire notebook for each experiment to be graded, or you can make Xerox copies.  Never tear the pages out of a regular bound notebook! Record all of your observations in your notebook as you do the experiment; notes on loose pieces of paper may be thrown away. Write in pen. If you make an error, simply draw a line through it (do not obliterate it).

The best way I have found to fill in the notebook is to use a two-column format, with the first column being used for you to enter the procedures before you come to class, and the second column for recording your experimental observations.  However, you do not have to write the Introduction, Table of Chemicals, or Conclusion and Discussion, or pre-lab questions in two-column format.  The two column format is designed to give you flexibility in fulfilling your pre-lab assignments and the actual conducting of your experiment.

Before any information is entered into the lab notebook, reserve the first 4 pages for a Title Page, and Table of Contents for the entire semester.  If not already numbered, pages in the notebook should be sequentially numbered.  The Table of Contents should include the page numbers for the start of each experiment.

For each experiment, be sure to include:

• Your Name
• Experiment Number and Title
• Introduction
• Table of Chemicals or Materials Used
• Description of Experiment, Including Procedures, in 2-column format
  • first column is used to outline what you will be doing
  • second column is used to report your observations and make comments while doing the experiment
• Results and Discussion (recap what you observed and discuss your experiments)
• Conclusions (basically, this section includes what you learned by doing this experiment and what the purpose of this experiment was.)

Before class:

1. Read through the day's lab and write a brief introduction for the experiment in your notebook. Include a description of the experiment, reactions involved, a general explanation of the reaction and expected product(s).
2. Write out the procedure for the experiment in the first column. You should be able to do the experiment from your notebook alone; however, do not just copy the manual into your lab notebook. That is a waste of time and effort.

During class:

Record your observations and any minor changes in the procedure in the second column of your notebook. Be sure to include: the actual amount you use of each reagent, reactions times, colors and odors, spills or mistakes, the weight of the product, and the appearance of the product

After class:

Make and record any necessary calculations: percent yield, product description, and other results.

To turn in your write-up:

Tear out the duplicate pages (or make Xerox copies) from your notebook to be handed in for grading.  Alternatively, you can hand in your entire notebook when a particular experiment is due. Staple any loose pages (duplicate copies or Xerox copies) together, and if you have products to turn in, staple these materials to the upper right corner of the first page of your report.

Your notebook is usually due one week after the experiment was completed (unless specified otherwise by your instructor).

You are finished (how about that?).