Lab

These reports are to be typed and should
be in Times New Roman 12pt font.

Abstract
A one paragraph summery of the lab that includes:
a hypothesis, the important data, any and all significant findings, as well as why
the lab is important. It is easiest to write this last as it uses information
from all your other sections.
~ ½ page
Introduction
The purpose of this experiment and why it
is important should be defined. A hypothesis must be stated in this section. Any
background information which could be useful for the experiment, such as the
theory of the methods used in the experiment, should be included.
~1-1½ pages
Methods
In paragraph format, explain what you
did for the experiment. This should be detailed enough that someone else can
run the experiment exactly as you did and should list all equipment and
chemicals used.
~ ½ + pages

Results
This section will contain all data in the
format of tables and figures (illustrations, charts, graphs, etc.). Within this
section data will be interpreted but no conclusions or implications will be
made. General trends should be mentioned but not concluded (i.e. “The
datapoints shown in Table 2 have 20% increases between them until the fifth
addition of the reagent.” not “The addition of the reagent causes a 20%
increase until the reagent exceeds the amount of sample in the solution.”). Data must be in a table or figure, but the
same data should not be shown in more than one type of figure. Both tables and
figures must be titled and captioned in ACS format, as detailed in Chapters 15
and 16 of The ACS Style Guide. Tables and figures must be referred to by
their title in any text that addresses them (i.e. “As you can see in Figure
2…”).

Note: Captions for tables go above the
table and captions for figures go below the figures. Table and figures are
titled by the classification (table/figure) and the numerical order in which
they appear in the report, staring with Table 1 and Figure 1.
~ ½ + pages
Conclusion
This section will draw conclusions from
the data discussed in the results section and will discuss the trends observed
in greater detail. The focus should not be on stating what the data is but
rather what the data means about the experiment and why it supports or
disproves the hypothesis stated in the abstract and introduction sections. Any
errors in the experiment should be identified in this section and need to be
clarified so that it can be understood if this creates doubt in your results.
Suggestions for improving personal skill with techniques or the experiment
design must be included in this section.
~ ½ -1½ pages

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