Always keep your audience in mind. Lab reports in this course should be written for a competent peer (perhaps a student at another CSU campus who is in a different Organic class with a different textbook).
Reports should be word-processed and all chemical structures should be drawn in ChemDraw (the program accompanying your text). Each lab report should include at least one structure and all of the appropriate reactions.
The purpose of the report is to convey what you have done in a concise, organized, and easy to read fashion. Each lab report should include proper references (consult the ACS Style Guide, CSUB reference section: QD 8.5 A25) for all procedures and chemical information. Plagiarism of any form is not tolerated. Nothing should be taken from other sources (including classmates and the internet) without a proper reference.
Past tense should be used to describe what you did in lab. Present tense should be used for statements of fact and chemical properties. For example: "The melting point of unknown 3319801 was measured to be 109ºC. The melting point of acetanilide is 114ºC." Avoid using the first person and any statements of how you "felt" about an experiment, whether it was "easy," or the supposition that you "learned a lot" from the lab.
The example lab report and following outline of subject headings should help you submit an acceptable lab report.
Name, Lab Section, Date
Lab Number: TITLE
Introduction
The introduction should include a discussion of why this lab is important, how it fits into the grand scheme of Organic Chemistry, and what theoretical framework is used.
The introduction is where you show that you understand the theory behind each operation (e.g., why are the impurities eliminated in recrystallization?).
The purpose of the lab should be clearly stated. Note that even though my purpose in having you do an extraction lab may be "to help students learn the practice of purification by extraction" the purpose of the lab should be reported as "to isolate and identify the carboxylic acid component from a mixed unknown using extraction."
Materials and Hazards
Should include all chemicals used in lab, any physical properties that may be helpful, hazards, and all physical properties used later for calculations.
Do not list "irritant" as a hazard.
Mode of entry and LD50 should be listed for highly toxic or poisonous chemicals.
Use a well-organized table.
Physical properties should be referenced.
Equipment should be noted only when it is non-standard or where the workings could affect the results. Therefore, do not include "test tubes," but do include, "Varian model 920 Gas Chromatagraph."
Procedure
Use the past tense to describe what you did.
Reference the lab manual.
Be as concise and complete as possible!
The procedure should contain all of the necessary details that one would need to achieve the same results and nothing more. The size of the reaction flask is often unimportant; the mass of reagent is essential.
Your target reader is a competent student in a similar Organic Chemistry laboratory course. Assume that the reader could have access to Lehman from the library but that it is an inconvenience to consult it. Do not say, "In experiment 17A...," since your readers will not have Lehman in front of them to find out what "experiment 17A" is.
Include actual amounts of reagents used and a description and weight of products formed. [This information may need to be repeated in tabular form in the Data section.]
Always include your unknown number if you have one.
Data
All data that you have collected in the lab should be here in tabular format.
Graphs should be in addition to tabular data and should be done on the computer. The axes should be scaled so that the information can be clearly discerned (in general, the data in a plot should be, as nearly as possible, a full-page width and half page height).
This section is for data and observations only. Do NOT include any discussion or evaluation of the results. This belongs in the discussion section. Do not refer to an unknown's identity--that's a conclusion!
Discussion
Include a rationalization of ALL your results, a discussion of what you expected to find and possible reasons that this differs from what you really found, and contrast different methods of achieving the same goal.
This is a discussion of your results NOT a discussion of your feelings about the lab.
Justify any conclusions you are asked to make.
Discuss any assumptions that you have made.
Use specifics. Cite specific values from your Results section and compare them to specific known or expected values. [e.g., Don't say "A narrow m.p. range indicates purity," instead say "The compound was found to be pure by comparing its corrected mp (103-104ºC) to the literature value (104ºC). The 1ºC mp range is a further indication of purity."]
Discuss the implications of your data.
Conclusion
One sentence is often plenty for a short lab.
Answers to Postlab Questions
The questions at the end of each chapter (labeled, "Exercises") may be neatly handwritten on plain paper or typewritten.
Be concise but show all calculations.
Lab Notebook Pages (Duplicate Copies)
Turn in the duplicates not the originals.
The procedure should be clearly outlined and ALL data written as it is collected (neatness is not a necessity but legibility is).
All of the pages should have been dated and signed each day during the lab session.
All mistakes should be lined-through not obliterated.