The Formal Laboratory Report Rubrics
The Formal Laboratory Report
Title Page (If required)
The title page is optional but is important in setting the tone of the paper. The format for this page is open and you may select any of the current forms used in writing. This page provides information in terms of the Title of the Experiment, which should be narrow enough to identify the specific topic of the study or the identity of the substance/method used. Other information includes the class/section for which the experiment was done, date turned in, name of investigator and co-investigators as applicable
Abstract 10
An abstract is an extremely terse summary of the entire paper, about three to six sentences long, which in a journal appears in small print just below the article’s title and list of authors. The purpose of an abstract is to provide readers with a brief glimpse into the subject of the article, to help them decide whether to read the whole thing.
For this particular experiment, you should include your purpose statement, the instrument/s and the parameters studied, average concentration of unknown, your standard deviation, and the percent relative standard deviation.
Introduction 10
The introduction section will serve two important purposes: (1) state the questions the experiment you are conducting is trying to answer and why it is important and (2) provide the reader with enough mathematical and theoretical background information to explain how the experiment works.
This experiment has a specific purpose of determining an unknown numerical value and interpreting what it means. The extent and depth of the background in this section will be determine on who the intended audience is for the report. For the purposes of this laboratory, your intended audience will be a fellow student, such as your lab partner. Include enough information to make it clear how the experiment works, both in terms of the equipment used as well as the chemistry involved.
For this particular experiment, you must include information regarding how compounds interact with light energy, the concept of spectroscopy, and a treatment of the Beer-Lambert Law.
Procedure 10
The procedure section is for you to convince the reader that you carried out the experiment knowledgeably and carefully. Think of the reader as someone who is unfamiliar with the procedures carried out in the experiment. Do not copy the experimental procedure from your lab manual or give the reader instructions. If you copy the laboratory manual instructions, the person reading your report will feel as though they are being ordered to do something.
You must report what you and your lab partner did during the laboratory period. Often times, students will do additional tasks that aren’t expressly stated in the manual. When you have completed your procedure summary, an individual should be able to take it and complete the experiment with the summary alone. If you don’t include the finer details, the person completing the experiment will not get the same data as you did.
For this particular experiment, you must include your methods for preparing the standard solutions and test solutions. You will also need to include the procedure used for determining the solutions’ absorbance levels using the Vernier LabQuest 2 Data Logger and Ultravis plus spectrophotometer.
Experimental Data 15
This section of the report should be fairly self-explanatory. Any data collected during the experiment will be presented in this section.
The experimental data should include the following items: Absorbance Spectrum for cobalt (II) chloride and the value of lambda max, standard solutions absorbance data, calibration curve and test solutions absorbance data. Be sure to include all of the curves you produced in the course of the experiment. Data and calculations will be done with a pre-programmed Excel spreadsheet and the pertinent parts copy-pasted into tthis section of the report.
Calculations 15
This section of the report shows sample calculations for each different type of calculation done for one (1) trial in the experiment. Calculations should be shown for one set of data from beginning to end.
Results and Discussion 30
This section of the report starts out with a verbal description of the results for each part of the report, citing figures and graphs when possible. Trends are discussed, if any, or the correlation of the data to the expected results also discussed. Equations, tables and graphs are cited properly (see General Considerations below). Include a paragraph on possible sources of error and improvements that can be done.
Conclusion 5
A conclusion section should, in one or two paragraphs, review the purpose of the lab and summarize the implications of your experimental results. You should remind the reader of the basic question that the experiment was to address and then briefly explain how your results bear on that question or problem. The conclusion differs from the abstract in that it’s emphasis is placed on your deductions from your data analysis, describing them in more detail than is given in the abstract.
For this particular experiment, you should include the information listed above and repeat your average unknown concentration, your standard deviation, and the percent error of your unknown concentration from the known value. You may include other numerical results obtained, citing lambda max for the undiluted solution.
Bibliography 5
The bibliography, also called a reference list or works cited section, is a collection of the sources you used in preparing your laboratory report. You cannot use someone else’s ideas, theories, or thoughts without giving them credit in your manuscript. You must use a minimum of five (5) references in your laboratory report, including your lecture textbook or laboratory manual.
If you have questions concerning how to format your bibliography/reference list, you can consult the ACS document posted on the class website. There are also online reference formatting websites and tools that can assist you.
NOTE: For this report, you can use RefWorks to help you format your bibliography. This online tool allows you to enter in the information from any source you use, and it will format the bibliography for you. They also offer a tool that will place the in text citations into your report in the proper locations. Two other common online tools are BibMe and EasyBib.
Total 100
General Considerations
Figures: All figures must be numbered and given a short descriptive title. If a figure is included in your final draft, it must be referenced somewhere in your report. Do not include figures (charts, pictures, graphs, etc.) if they do not add relevant insight to the experiment.
Tables: All tables must be numbers and given a short descriptive title. If a table is included in your final draft, it must be referenced somewhere in your report. Do not include tables if they do not add relevant insight to the experiment.
Equations: Chemical as well as mathematical equations are an integral part of chemistry. When you show either a chemical or mathematical equation in your laboratory report, it should set off on its own line and numbered. Also, every variable in the equation must be identified.
Bibliography/Works Cited: Acceptable format for the entries is the ACS (American Chemical Society) format
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