Lab Notebook

The purpose of a lab notebook is to record four kinds of information that are needed if someone were to try and reproduce what you have done. They are:

1. Purpose Why are you doing the experiment? Which questions (general or specific) are you trying to answer?

2. Procedure What methods are you using to answer these questions? Ifs not necessary to copy the experimental procedures in your notebook. You can simply tape your copy in the appropriate place. However, if you change any of the procedures, you should record these changes.

3. Results and Observations What did you observe? List the data you collect. For example, in the first experiment you will prepare several chromatograms. They can be taped into your notebook in the Results section of your write-up together with a complete identification of the sample being studied and the conditions used for each experiment. Often it is very efficient to record your results in a Table.

4. Conclusions This section is where the chenidst puts the answer(s) to the questions that are being studied. What conclusions can be drawn from the results? What results support your conclusions? In many of the experiments there are questions sprinkled about in the write-up. These are often a guide to drawing these conclusions and should be answered. If you are in doubt about any of the entries ask your instructor.