Laboratory Reports for Instrumental Analysis

The purpose of writing laboratory reports is to provide experience in writing on the subject matter in analytical chemistry and to introduce you to some aspects of preparing scientific papers similar to those submitted for publication. Some parts of writing a lab report, such as the format, are routine and just a matter of following directions. Other parts of the report, such as getting a good balance of general theory and specific details in the introduction, require practice and experience. Be sure to read the following material carefully before writing any reports. Don't hesitate to consult with me if you have any questions about these procedures.

Packaging
1. Lab reports must be typed, or done on a word processor. The only exceptions are complex formulas or the calculations in Appendix I. You should do all graphs on the computer as well. 2. If any original recorder output is used, it should be cut to size, glued or taped onto paper and labeled properly in Appendix II. No reports will be accepted with rolls of recorder paper. 3. All pages must be numbered. 4. A title page should be on top which includes: your name, your partner's name, the date on which the experiment was done, the date on which the report was handed in, and the title of the report (you must use your own title). 6. The report must be stapled together; a paper clip is not sufficient. 7. The main headings of the lab report (e.g., Introduction, Experimental) should be centered in the middle of the page and underlined. Subheadings should be used in both the Introduction and the Results and Discussion sections. These should be placed on the left hand side of the page and underlined. They are used to break down the material into an organized and more readable form. Several pages of text, unbroken by headings, are too demanding of the reader. She/he may be looking for only one aspect of the discussion and would have to wade through all the discussion to find the information required.

Content
The lab report must consist of the following sections: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Introduction Experimental Results and Discussion Conclusion Appendix I (calculations) Appendix II (recorder output) Appendix III (answers to textbook or other questions not directly related to the lab) References

Use the past tense when describing anything that you did in the lab. Use the present tense when describing established, textbook material.

A lab report should be comprehensible to a scientist who is not familiar with the experiment. Clear simple English is the best way to present the material. As a general rule, if it can be said clearly in one sentence, don't try and say it in two. A description of each section of a lab report follows. Introduction The purpose of this section is to show that you have digested lecture and textbook material and that you can relate that material to the experiment which you have carried out. The introduction must contain some general theory of the particular technique and relate it to the specific experiment. An abstract of discussion of theory is not sufficient nor is an account of the experiment itself. The introduction should be a synthesis of the two. Be sure to include a description of any chemistry involved along with pertinent chemical equations. Any equations which allow the measured quantity to be converted to the value of interest should also be included. The introduction should be well-organized and divided into sections with subheadings. The reader should be able to tell by looking at these headings how the material has been organized and what the writer feels is important to the subject. Experimental The experimental procedure should be briefly described. If a handout is provided, the handout can be referred to. In this case, it is not necessary to rewrite the procedure, and only changes in procedure need to be described. Block diagrams of apparatus must be included in this section. A block diagram is a diagrammatic drawing showing the basic components and their relationship to each other. Do not give a representational drawing (a sketch) of the apparatus. Results and Discussion In this section the results of the experiment are presented in tables and figures and explained in discussion. The tables and figures should be placed in close proximity to the text discussion of them. The discussion should be divided into topics with each topic having a subheading. In a good report, the reader can tell from the subheadings what the important points of the experiment are. 1. Tables must be constructed neatly by use of a word processor. Each table must be labeled (e.g., Table 1) and have a title which describes concisely the content of the table (e.g., Conditions Employed for the Determination of Iron by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry). Any further information necessary to an understanding of the table must be footnoted at the bottom of the table using appropriate superscripts and asterisks. All columns in a table must have headings and units should be indicated. 2. Figures must be labeled (e.g., Figure 1) and have a title which indicates something about the nature of the data (e.g., Calibration Curve for the Spectrophotometric Determination of Iron). A title such as "Absorbance versus Concentration" is not appropriate. The axes must be labeled. Graphs must be neatly constructed (on a computer), and indicate the trend shown by the data points by smooth curves. Don't make straight lines out of all data. If you have a curve, indicate a curve. Often data will have a linear portion which curves off. If this is the case, construct the graph that way. Never do linear regression on non-linear data. 3. A discussion must include whatever is necessary to elucidate the material in the tables to the reader. It is the link between these "illustrations" and the experiment itself.

4. If appropriate, one of the subsections of the Results and Discussion section should be a statistical analysis. This section should evaluate the value of the results in terms of accuracy and precision. If the true value is known, a numerical accuracy should be calculated. A discussion of the factors contributing to the deviation from the true factor is in order. Was the result obtained from an absolute measurement or a calibration curve? Was the instrument calibrated? Was a least squares analysis performed? etc. If several trials were made, obtain a deviation. What contributes to the uncertainty of the measurements? Is there an obvious limiting measurement or is the uncertainty the result of many contributing measurements? Was a least squares analysis done? What is its precision? What not to say in a Statistical Analysis. Don't say "This experiment went pretty well," or "The results were not so good." You will know how to calculate a numerical value for precision and also for accuracy if the true value is known. You can say exactly and in a quantitative fashion how good the results are. Conclusion A brief set of statements summarizing the main points of the experiment should make up the conclusion along with a summary of the final results in tabular form. In an analytical experiment, the conclusion is likely to be how much of something is in a sample and with what reliability. Appendices Generally three appendices will be included in the laboratory reports. 1. Appendix I. Calculations for all relevant experiments should be in Appendix I. Do not put calculations in the Result and Discussion section. Put example calculations in Appendix I. However, you can discuss the calculations in either the Introduction or Results and Discussion sections if necessary. Graphs and tables are not calculations and should appear in the Results and Discussion section. 2. Appendix II. This section consists of recorder output such as spectra, chromatograms, polarograms, etc. The actual recorder output is not included in the Results and Discussion section. However, drawings and graphs obtained from these data will make up figures. Recorder output should not be presented as a roll of paper. Each graph must be cut out and taped onto a piece of paper the same size as the lab report. A single large graph should be taped to a piece of paper down one end and folded once or twice to fit the report. If your lab partner has the spectra from the experiment, photocopy the page prepared in the above manner and include the photocopy in the report. 3. Appendix III. This section consists of questions that do not directly tie into the laboratory performed. In many cases these come from the textbook. References The references should be listed in the format below: 1. Doe, John; Anal. Chem. 1992, 64, 132-141. 2. Braun, Robert D; Introduction to Instrumental Analysis, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1987, 232-255.

Note that it is not necessary to list the same reference in the bibliography more than once. If you use reference 1 three times in the report, just cite it as (1) three times.

Evaluation of Lab Reports

Roughly one-third of the report grade will be based on writing and two-thirds on calculations and results. The evaluation of the writing portion will be based upon the format (the format described above must be followed) and upon the clarity, emphasis, organization, and accuracy of the presentation of concepts in the Introduction and Results and Discussion sections. The manner in which the theory is connected to the particular experiment is extremely important. The calculations and results will include an evaluation of graphs for both the format and the data they represent. Be sure to read the section on graphs above. Also included will be an evaluation of the calculations performed for the statistical analysis. This is all in addition to the grading of the actual calculations and the value obtained for the analysis.