Explanation of Core Assessment Assignment Breakdown
CHEM 1311
***Lab report must be typed in 12pt font, Times New Roman, 1 inch margins, and single
spaced. The formal lab report assignment in Chemistry is a typewritten document meant to
simulate a report that would be generated in an industrial lab setting. This report will count as 2
separate lab grades.
Lab Report must be organized exactly like the numbered sections below.
I. TITLE: The title of the lab. It should indicate what the lab is about.
II. PURPOSE:
1. State here the purpose of the lab in short, precise sentences.
2. This should be done in numbered sentences. Like this example
3. Should be in past tense with no people words (Do not use the following words: the
student, the researcher, I, we etc).
III. MATERIALS/REAGENTS/SAFETY
This section should be typed in the format of the following table below:
Material/Equipment:
Name Size
Graduated cylinder
Beaker
Metal cylinder
50mL
25mL
N/A
Reagents:
Chemical Name/ Formula Molecular Mass Boiling point/
Melting Point
(If available)
Solubility
(If available)
Water (liquid)/ H2O
Unknown Solution A
Sodium Bicarbonate/ NaHCO3
18 g/mol
36.5
84.0 g/mol
BP: 100oC, MP:0oC
BP: 50.5oC, MP:-25oC
BP: N/A, MP:270oC
N/A
Miscible with
water
9 g/100mL
(20oC)
Safety:
Wear the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) such as googles, gloves and lab coat. Waste must be
disposed in the inorganic waste bottle.
IV. PROCEDURE
-The procedure in a formal lab should be a narrative description of what was done in the
lab rather than the step by step descriptions in your lab notebook/data sheets.
– Should be in past tense with no people words (Do not use the following words: the
student, the researcher, I, we etc).
Heres an example of a successfully written procedure:
Explanation of Core Assessment Assignment Breakdown
CHEM 1311
In order to achieve elimination of hydrogen bromide from 2-bromo-2-
methylbutane, the base potassium hydroxide was used according to the following
procedure. To a solution of 25 mL of 4 M potassium hydroxide in 1-propanol was added
2.5 mL of 2-bromo-2-methylbutane. The reaction was heated for 1-1.5 hours The
resulting yellow colored mixture was then filtered using a Buchner funnel and filter flask.
The collected was left to dry for 48 hours and then weighed on a digital balance. A
Stuart melting point apparatus was then used to determine the melting point.
Notice that observations are included in the narrative and are therefore not
required in a separate table. If no observations were recorded, then do not include
them.
V. RESULTS/DATA TABLES:
Type all data tables/ from your data sheets that you turned in with the correct titles.
Include appropriate units for all numbers, and read all measuring devices using
appropriate significant figures estimation.
VI. ANALYSIS: This section is the empirical and quantitve sections parts identification, and
analysis. Perform EVERY calculation needed for the lab. I should see every math step
taken.
For example: 2.00m-1.50m=0.5m
Box the final answer in the calculation section.
Be sure and include a formula, if applicable. If many calculations need to be repeated
due to multiple trials or samples, again, all calculations must be included. You may
include a neatly hand written section with these calculations in your report.
VII. CONCLUSION/DISCUSSION: This section is the entire writing core assessment. The
sources of uncertainty discussion is the empirical and quantitative conclusion part, and
the discusion of the data and sources of uncertainty also qualify as the entire critical
thinking core assessment.
-This is the most important section, and must be at least 500 words long.
-All parts of the conclusion should not include people words (Do not use the
following words: the student, the researcher, I, we etc).
-Your conclusion should include a brief summary of the objectives/purpose of the
lab, this should be written in the form of a thesis statement. (Ex. In this lab aspirin was
synthesized with a purity of 98.5%.) Supporting sentences for this thesis statement
should include a very brief summary of the lab, a summary of the data collected,
and a comparison to the data expected (the theoretical value).
Explanation of Core Assessment Assignment Breakdown
CHEM 1311
-Make sure you actually summarize and discuss the data in the results
paragraph (do not a rewrite of your data tables). Calculations should not be presented
in this section, but rather the results of any calculations should be presented.
-Make sure that every pronoun used is clearly defined. Do not assume that the
reader knows what you mean. The conclusion should include appropriate usage of
pertinent vocabulary. Each topic in your conclusion should be in its own paragraph.
– A discussion of circumstances that could cause misinterpretation of the data
(this section will be referred to in this class as sources of error). Sources of error does
not refer to human errors unless they are uncorrectable. For instance, spilling your
product would significantly reduce your amount of product you isolated, it is a valid
uncertainty to report in your conclusion. Reading the balance incorrectly is not a valid
source of uncertainty to present in your conclusion. Your uncertainty must be linked to
your data collection/procedure and the effect that uncertainty had on the end calculation.
In other words, why was the calculated number too high or too low? What step caused
the collected data to be off in such a manner that it would make the end calculation off in
the manner determined in the lab? What would be the expected result if the mistake was
corrected?
-Grammar counts. Spelling counts. Use complete sentences and logical
discussions.
VIII. SOURCES
References- Works cited within your lab report in the introduction or conclusion/discussion.
Whitmarsh, R. Chemistry II Lab Manual; San Jacinto College South, 2018

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