Concept videos

Lectures are generally recorded and posted on the EchoCenter (access through the course BlackBoard site).

In addition to the recorded lectures, a series of short videos have been recorded and posted online (click here). These videos are arranged by topic category (lab fundamentals, spectroscopy, general chemistry concepts, etc.) and are available for your use in reviewing concepts and extending your understanding. Also, suggestions of videos that are useful for specific labs are give on the course schedule.

Research Notebook

Proper academic and industrial lab practices require that all work in labs be done directly from a lab research notebook. To begin developing these skills, all lab work for this course will be done in a research notebook, and the duplicate pages are submitted to your instructor before leaving the lab. Consequently, use of this lab manual will not be permitted in class during the experiment, but you can refer to it during the analysis at the end of labs.

Preparing research notebooks for work in the lab

Proper preparation of your research notebook is the best way to make sure that you will be ready to do your experiment. A substantial portion of the notebook pages needs to be completed before arriving at the lab so that you are prepared and organized in your work. Details needed before lab include:

• The title of experiment, your name, the date, and your lab section. These details need to appear on all pages, not just the first page.
• An objective statement. This can either be a bulleted list of the in-lab outcomes and goals, or a very brief paragraph describing the outcomes. A bulleted list is typically more useful and will enable you to check your progress as you go.
• A detailed procedure. Most often you will be following a procedure that has been provided to you. In this case there is no need for you to copy the procedure verbatim; rather, make sure that the procedure you write is detailed enough for you to follow. Add extra details where you think you might need them, and omit others that you find to be overly verbose. Make sure to diagram any apparatus that will be used, if applicable. For multiple dilutions it will help to diagram or sketch these dilutions (to make sure that they are clear).
• Safety information and potential hazards. Labs can be a dangerous place, and knowing about the potential hazards in advance is the best way to avoid potentially-harmful situations. Any and all chemical, or physical, hazards related to the experiment must be listed and explained inside the procedure. Consider making `warning' boxes in your procedure.
• Waste handling instructions. A detailed description of how all the waste components will be handled. Again, this must be include inside your procedure write-up.
• Data tables. Tables, placed next to the procedural steps that are relevant to the data collection, for the values that you expect to collect/measure must be prepared in advance of the lab session. This is the best way to make sure that you will have all of the information that you need once you leave the lab. In the fast-paced, sometimes nerve-wracking, laboratory setting it is easy to miss important details; having tables set up in-advance allows you to see, at a quick glance, what exactly you'll need to record.

Examining a sample notebook entry

The sample notebook entry (download the PDF) highlights a few important things to keep in mind when preparing your lab notebook. Specifically:

• All of the important information at the top has been filled-in, on all pages, before lab.
• Objectives are listed in a concise way that allows the student to easily identify objectives left to complete.
• Appropriate room for observations is left next to the procedure, and the observations made in lab are detailed enough to be understandable. Some students prepare their notebook pages in one color pen (black ink, for instance) and make observations and record data in another (red or blue ink) -- this can be very helpful for working with your notes.
• Tables are prepared, before coming to lab, for all of the data that will need to be recorded.
• Waste and safety concerns are listed inside the procedure.

It is also important to note that procedure is written in a way that the student can easily follow -- a lot of details when necessary and fewer details when appropriate. Notice the two versions of step #5; it is likely that the first version might show up early on in the year, whereas the second version would be used as the student develops more comfort and confidence.

Working with notebooks in the lab

In the lab, all work must be done directly from and in the lab notebook. For professionals, this is to ensure the strongest levels of integrity. For students, this is good training for future research positions, and limited reliance on memory. The following items are added to your research notebook during the experiment:

• Name of lab partner or supervisor (if applicable).
• Observations. A researcher needs to take detailed notes and write their observations during an experiment. Times, colors, temperatures, and deviations from the written procedure are some of the observations that you should be making in the lab. These are immeasurably helpful for people who will want to reproduce your work and for yourself.
• Data. All data must be recorded directly into the notebook using the tables that were constructed before the lab. This includes masses, volumes, and other exact measurements that are recorded in the lab.
• Calculations. It is sometimes helpful, though not always necessary, to perform some preliminary calculations in your notebook.

General notebook practices

• Entries must be written in pen, not pencil. Do not use error correction fluid or pens -- it doesn't show on the duplicate.
• When you make errors, simply draw a line through the incorrect entry and enter the correct information. Do not scribble. It is also useful to provide a reason for the correction, if applicable.
• The entries should be legible, and information should be organized and clearly labeled.
• Use lots of space. Lab notebook should be geared toward functionality and legibility, not saving space.
• Make a note in your observations about any data that is recorded on external instruments. Include a description of what is recorded, where it is saved, and the filename.
• Always include the make and model of analytical instrumentation (spectrometers, pH meters, etc. -- pretty much anything that uses electricity). Also, make sure to document the specific instrument parameters that are used in your experiment (calibrations, sampling frequency, etc.).
• Students will submit the duplicate pages of their research notebooks before leaving the lab. You should submit the copies (not the originals), as you will want the originals -- which are easier to read -- to work from after the lab.

Post-lab Assignments

After completing an experiment, you will be expected to complete and submit a post-lab assignment. These assignments will generally be either (a) a series of questions related to the lab and your data, or (b) a scholarly paper. Post-lab assignments are individual work only and will generally be due before the start of the next lab period. Exact due dates will be announced.

For assignments submitted on Blackboard using TurnItIn: make sure that you've received your email confirmation that the assignment has been received. These receipts should arrive within minutes of submission. If you don't get a submission receipt within 30 minutes, submit your assignment again as it has not actually been received.

General guidelines for post-lab questions

Consider the following important guidelines for post-lab assignments:

• Post-lab questions (for labs that do not require a formal paper) must be typed. Typed equations need to include units and be formatted in an appropriate manner such that they are legible and straightforward for the grader to read. This can be accomplished by using the equation editor in Microsoft Office or LaTeX. See Lab #1 and Writing Chapter 2 for additional suggestions and guidelines about typesetting equations and more. Make sure that the instructor will be able to follow your work without difficulty.
• The questions must appear in the correct order, including all exhibits (tables, figures). Note: "Questions for Thought" are not optional, thought-provoking questions; rather, they are questions to be answered after you've completed your analysis. Often, these questions will tie together different concepts and require some research.
• You do not need to copy the question text into your assignment.
• For multiple trials of the same experiment, only one full set of calculations need be shown for each question. For replicate calculations, the results can be presented in a table or list. The following calculations do not need to be shown: average/mean and standard deviation (except for the first lab). In all cases, how the values were calculated must be stated explicitly.
• You are never required to show how average and standard deviation are computed manually -- it is expected that you used Excel or a similar package to compute the average. All other calculations, however, need to included. For example: when computing a 95% confidence interval, make sure to explicitly include the expression for the confidence interval with the proper values of s, t, and N.
• A large portion of your grade is assigned based on your analysis; it is crucial that your work be legible and organized. Teaching fellows will not regrade work that was not properly organized/prepared.

General guidelines for scholarly papers

Consider the following important guidelines for post-lab assignments that involve writing scholarly papers:

• Scholarly papers will contain three sections: (a) paper, (b) references, and (c) supporting information.
• Papers and references must be typed (including equations) for all sections (including the supporting information, which contains the calculations and data analysis). Typed equations need to include units and be formatted in an appropriate manner such that they are legible and straightforward for the grader to read. This can be accomplished by using the equation editor in Microsoft Office or LaTeX. See Lab #1 and Writing Chapter 2 for additional suggestions and guidelines about typesetting equations and more.
• The supporting information (data analysis and questions for thought) must be complete and in the appropriate order. Exhibits (tables, figures) that will be presented in the paper also appear in the appropriate place in the supporting information. Any "Questions for Thought" should also be answered at the end of your Supporting Information section. In general, these questions provide good insight into the types of things that could be discussed in the paper.
• A scholarly paper will always start on a new page. An appropriate title and the name(s) of the author(s) should appear at the beginning of the paper. References do not start on a new page; rather, they can follow immediately the conclusion of the paper, before the Supporting Information. The Supporting Information may have a separate references section at the end if you used references in preparation of the Supporting Information that were not necessarily included in the paper.

Successfully approaching your post-lab assignments

Consider the following general suggestions for success in preparing your post-lab assignments:

• Read the post-lab assignments before going to lab. Have in mind the questions that you will need to answer while you are doing the lab. Talk to your lab instructor; they will likely be able to give you good insight into these concepts.
• Start working up your data as soon as possible -- ideally, before you leave lab (that is why many of the labs are shorter than the full lab period). As time passes, it is natural that you will start to forget exactly what you had done in the lab and, therefore, will end up spending a lot of time trying to remember what you did. Instead, it is most advisable to start working on the analysis immediately (within 24 hours), while the material is fresh. In most cases you will be given time in the lab to start, and sometimes finish, your analysis.
• Working in groups, or at office hours, on the data analysis can be very helpful. Don't copy another student's work, but work together to decide what you need to do to analyze your data. Never give your work to anyone else, even if you worked together. See detailed notes on academic integrity and misconduct in the forematter of this lab manual.
• Plan your research: what do you know? What don't you know? About which topics do you need more information in order to understand the outcomes of your experiment?
• Use previous assignments, and "Questions for Thought," to help guide you in your work. As the course proceeds, less information will be given and more thoughtfulness will be expected.
• Using Google to do research can be good when the thing you are looking for is rather straightforward: the molecular weight of a compound, the structure of a molecule, or other trivia that are commonly known and likely to be correct. Unfortunately, however, many websites -- including those with .edu extensions (i.e., schools and faculty webpages) -- contain information that is factually erroneous. Moreover, it is can be very difficult to discern good information from things that are outright incorrect on the internet.
• When looking for information to supplement your understanding about the systems, techniques, and processes that we will study, make sure to search for and use good information from authoritative sources. Use peer-reviewed textbooks, reference manuals (such as the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics), journal articles, and review articles, most of which can be easily accessed online. Use scholar.google.com to help refine web searches to include mostly scholarly sources. Finding good sources of information can be tough at first -- come to office hours and speak with your instructor in lab to work on these skills.