Lab write ups at the college standard

[pakmingki]

how are they done at the college level? I would relaly like to compare actualy college level lab reports to my AP chemistry level lab reports. I know that they are usually done in pen and paper, but if someone could scan one so i could look at it I would greatly appreciate it thanks.

 

[chemisttree]

I think you will find that the AP level course and the college level course are virtually identical with respect to the lab write up.

 

[symbolipoint]

Laboratory reports for college lower division courses are not made according to a textbook/lab exercise book's pre-designed forms; instead, the student either follows a format which the instructor directs or the student decides on his own how to arrange text discussions and clear display of data and results. In most upper division laboratory courses, a formal report is expected and required. Formal reports are actually not difficult to create, since they fit any chosen standard FORM, made of different labeled sections; you know what you want to show in each section, no fancy literary tricks. Your outline generally might be something like this:
Title and Author
Abstract
Introduction
Experimental Discussion
Summary of Results Discussion
Conclusion

Just look at a few articles in some chemistry and scientific journals and see how each article is arranged. Some will be variations similar to what I described.

 

[russ_watters]

how are they done at the college level? I would relaly like to compare actualy college level lab reports to my AP chemistry level lab reports. I know that they are usually done in pen and paper, but if someone could scan one so i could look at it I would greatly appreciate it thanks.

All writing assignments in college (except those done in class) are typed. You will need a computer with a word processor and a spreadsheet/graphing program.

 

[chemisttree]

All writing assignments in college (except those done in class) are typed. You will need a computer with a word processor and a spreadsheet/graphing program.

Most lower level undergraduate chemistry lab courses require that the write-up be completed in a lab notebook which is turned in and graded from time to time. Upper level chemistry courses may require additional work be completed in a more formal manner that requires typed reports. Spreadsheet/graphing programs are becoming the norm for upper division courses.

 

[russ_watters]

Huh - I never went beyond introductory chemistry in college (I'm an engineer) and everything we did was typed. I don't believe I ever had a written assignment longer than a short fill-in-the-blanks in any class that wasn't typed.

 

[chemisttree]

I think it would be a great idea to type up lab reports. In all the courses I have taught, I only required prelab write-ups before class (in the notebook) and periodic (three times per semester) examination of the student lab books in addition to quizzes. Of course I have never taught upper division chemistry courses... It sure would be easier to grade 25 typed reports than to examine 25 lab notebooks!

 

[symbolipoint]

Russ Waters,

The distinction there is about college-level and any remedial courses from a college. Introductory Chemistry is not upper division and not lower division. That course would likely be for students who are not chemistry majors and not pre-medical, and not (Usually, anyway) engineering majors. (Depending on where you study, engineering majors would eventually study General Chemistry for at least 1 semester). The Introductory ("remedial") course may typically require use of a published laboratory exercise notebook, from which students fill in various answers during lab work and after lab work; and then turn in some of the pages. On the other level are the UPPER DIVISION courses often requiring formal reports, ... usually typed.

 

[mrjeffy321]

In my introductory science classes (General Chemistry I, II, and Physics I, II), all the labs were out of a lab note book the instructor prepared. Inside the notebook would be all the instructions on how to perform the lab, questions to answer, and even spaces to answer the questions right there in lab, tear it out and turn it into the TA.
BIG changes when going into upper division labs (Physics labs, I have no experience in upper division chemistry). In the upper division labs, typed, formal lab write ups were required for each lab, and all required the student to graph the data collected during the lab using some computerized program (like Excel), nothing hand written / drawn could be turned in. We even, on occasion, had to do ultra formal lab write ups which required even more detailed description and analysis of the results.

 

[gravenewworld]

For gen chem I and II and organic I and II which a lot of students in engineering, biology, nursing, etc. take, the lab write ups are done in the lab notebook. When I was TAing these labs, students had to buy lab notebooks that had pages that made carbon copies. The copies were submitted for the lab write ups while the students had everything in their notebooks.

Chemistry lab for majors involve writing typed reports with a cover page, intensive statistical analysis, etc.