Laboratory Reports

The laboratory report is the final record of your experiment. It should explain what you did, why you did
it and what you discovered from the experiment. It should be written so that anyone intending to
perform the same experiment again can follow your procedures and be able to compare their results with
yours. Here are a few guidelines to writing a good report.

The report should be typed on good quality letter size paper. (Sections 3 and 4, below, need not be
typed) The report should be neatly laid out. Begin each line at the left margin and indent each paragraph.
Use the full breadth of the page. Avoid shorthand and abbreviations when writing prose. Check for poor
spelling and grammar. Calculations should be laid out in a clear logical manner with the results
underlined or boxed. If an instructor cannot follow your reasoning you will lose credit even if your
answers are correct. Diagrams and graphs should be neatly drawn and labeled. Graphs should be drawn
on graph paper only, or created using graphing software, such as Excel. Use a ruler when a straight edge
is required. You may lose a significant amount of credit for a shabby report, even if its content is good.

Report Format

The general format for reports in Chemistry 215 is given below. The specific requirements for each
experiment are given with the experiment. Some experiment reports have less than the full requirements
outlined below.

1. The title, date, your name, your instructors name and the day and time your lab meets should
appear at the top of the first page. No cover page is required.

2. Introduction. State the purpose of the experiment, and the general experimental approach,
and include any chemical or mathematical formulae used in the experiment. It should be
concise: no more than a paragraph, or so.

3 Data and results. This section should contain all the observations and measurements obtained
during the experiment. They should be presented in a format that is easy to follow. If data
sheets are provided in the lab manual, they should be used. Include any graphs that are
required in this section

4. Calculations. This section should contain the results of any calculations performed using the
raw experimental data. One sample calculation for each type of calculation performed must
be shown. Write these on a separate page or on the spaces in the data sheet, if provided.

5. Discussion/Error analysis. The discussion is probably the most important part of the report.
This is where you discuss and interpret the results of your experiment, and compare them
with accepted, or literature values. If the experiment was intended to test a particular theory
then there should be some discussion as to how the results support or contradict that theory.
The instructor will be looking for evidence that you have put some thought and effort into
your discussion, and not merely restated what happened in the experiment without
explanation. Be concise, and avoid making statements that are unsupported by the

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 experimental data. In short, state your results, compare to expected, or known values, and
explain any differences. Any experiment involving some type of measurement will have
some error involved. Indicate the sources of error, and if possible estimate the extent of any
errors in the experiment. Indicate what effect these errors will have on the results of the
experiment.

8. Answer all post-lab questions at the end of the report.

Laboratory reports are due at the beginning of the laboratory class one week after the completion
of the experiment.

Preparation for the Laboratory Class

You should arrive in the laboratory class prepared to perform the experiment starting that day. You
should have read through the experiment, preferably several times, and familiarized yourself with the
background and theory of the experiment. Read up on the topic in your textbook if necessary. In order
to ensure that you have done this, you will not be allowed to work from your laboratory manual in the
class. Instead you will work from your laboratory notebook where you will have written a description of
the experimental procedure, in your own words, in sufficient detail to allow you to carry out the
experiment. By the beginning of each experiment you will have completed the pre-lab assignment on
Blackboard (http://blackboard.csusb.edu ), and written up the procedure in your laboratory notebook.

If do not have the procedure written up before laboratory begins you will be allowed to work from your
laboratory manual, but you will incur a penalty of 10% of the maximum (2 points for a lab worth 20
points). Each pre-lab blackboard assignment is worth 3 points

Late Work

Laboratory reports will be deemed late if they are not turned in at the beginning of the laboratory period
on the day the reports are due. You will lose 20% of the assessed grade for a report if it is late. No report
will be accepted if it is more than one week late.

Making up laboratory classes

Once an experiment has finished and another experiment begun, no makeup is possible. Should a
makeup be needed, you must obtain permission in the form of a written note, or email, from your lab
instructor allowing you to make up the experiment in another section. Admission to that section is at the
discretion of that sections instructor. It is advised that you contact the instructor whose section you
intend to make up the lab before attending. Upon completion of the makeup lab, you must have the
instructor sign and date your datasheet or lab notebook.