Instructions for Writing Lab Notebooks

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Include the following Sections for each Lab

Title

This is what everyone will see on the internet or in a magazine table of contents, so scientists try to make it really represent their work.

Background information

Not everyone reading the research report knows as much about the subject as the one performing the experiment, so provide any information the reader might need. This includes brief explanations of recent experiments done by other people related to the subject. For this class it includes whatever you have recently learned in class that helps you understand the experiment.

Purpose

Briefly state what you hope to discover. (This should be only one sentence.)

Procedure

Carefully write out a detailed description of everything you did during the experiment so that anyone could use this section to reproduce the experiment. To be valid, a science experiment must be able to be repeated with the same results. This section will be easy because it involves simply writing down the procedure.

Data

This section includes the results of the experiment. Any measurements or observations are recorded here.

Conclusions

In this final section, interpret the data and explain what you discovered during the experiment. Explain why the results happened the way they did. For instance, if the experiment went bad, explain why it went bad and how it could be done better the next time. If you observed something completely unexpected, try to explain why.

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Notebook Assessment

• The Title, Background Information, Purpose, and Procedure are due on lab day before the beginning of lab. You will not be allowed to enter the lab without it. It is extremely important to know your procedure before entering the lab.
• The Data section will be filled out during the lab time.
• The Conclusions section will be due two class days later.
• The lab notebook will be 25 to 50% of your grade, so take it seriously. However, I think it is a lot more fun than taking tests!

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Further Reflection

Roald Hoffman.

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