Your Laboratory Notebook

1
Your Laboratory Notebook

• Organizing and Writing the Notebook

2
Your Laboratory Notebook

• Your notebook needs to have a clear layout, clear
  descriptions, and good penmanship (10 points).
• Another student should be able to repeat the
  experiment (successfully) from your notebook.
  The details need to be there.

3
Body of the Notebook

• Introduction (5 points)
• Experimental plan (10 points)
• Observations and data section (35 points)
• Discussion of results (15 points)
• Conclusion (5 points)
• Questions (5 points)

4
Body of the Notebook

• Introduction
• Date
• Title of experiment/synthesis
• Clear statement of work to be performed.
• Experimental plan
• What is to be done? How is it going to be done?
  This is a look forward.
• A description of the experiment and a
  clarified/planned procedure.
• I will check this when you come into the
  laboratory to verify that you are prepared.
• Waste no time!!!

5
Body of the Notebook

• Observations and data section
• Record raw data
• Accurate and leave interpretation for the
  discussion section.
• Write down all observations. This section should
  be more narrative.
• Upon the addition of ethylenediamine, I
  observed
• There may be some repeat from the previous
  section, but it is OK.
• Make sure that your penmanship is legible!

6
Body of the Notebook

• Observations and data section
• Include page numbers
• Use drawings, in all sections, where appropriate.
• Glass apparatus
• Attach loose sheets such as data and graphs.
• Instruments
• Always use pen. You can cross out mistakes.

7
Body of the Notebook

• Discussion of results
• This is your opportunity to think.
• Interpret your data and make some comments.
• Conclusions
• Summarize the outcome, what you did, and what you
  found.
• Literature (references)
• Questions