Overall

Organization (5 pts)
You must present and report your experiments and findings in a professional manner as though you are research
scientist, not just a student in a laboratory class. Research scientists present their findings in journal articles that have
the same sections as your report should have and are generally written in the third person, passive tense.

The report is separated into the sections specified in the rubric (Title, Intro, etc.) with
Report is divided into clear labels, but there may be at most one instance where material is not appropriately
appropriate sections divided. Examples of inappropriate division: A result may be found in the experimental section; a
procedure is in the results; discussion is found within the results section.

A logical progression can be found in most circumstances, although two or fewer instances may
have slightly awkward wording or unclear organization. Mostly concise and well written.
Writing style
Experiments must be described/grouped by type, not chronologically.

Example of chronological description: On day 1, the experiment conducted was...On day 2...etc.

Report is written predominantly in third person past tense in the passive voice. Five or fewer
Grammar and grammatical and spelling errors are present, and the mistakes do not detract from the overall
spelling report. The Writing Center (writing.umn.edu) is available to help with grammar and spelling if
you are looking for support.

Report should be typed and double-spaced with 1 inch margins and using 12 point font. All
Formatting
pages need to be numbered.
Title Page (5 pts)
Your title must represent your project so that, by just reading the title, a reader knows what you did during your
experiments.

Title is concise and conveys the main point of the experiment, but it could be missing one key
Accurately and component. Do not copy the title of the experiment from the lab manual.
completely describes
the project Key components of title: the chemical or physical system under study, major experimental
technique(s) used, and the property that is being tested/changed.

The title, author's name, other group member names, due date, lab section, and semester (e.g.
Formatting
Spring 2018) are all present on a separate page at the beginning of the report.

Introduction (10 pts)
The introduction section serves to introduce the reader to why you did the experiment. By including relevant research
that was conducted before you completed your project, you tell the reader where your research fits in – why was it
essential that you conduct these experiments?

The author provides at least one specific example of why the project you’re writing about is
Explains why this important or interesting to real-world applications and/or to non-scientists.
work is important or
interesting The author uses at least one literature citation (reference) to support their claim of importance.
The source may not be as reliable as an academic journal or database but is still verifiable.
Provides Background
Include relevant background material, including theory of the technique(s) used, why they’re
information on the
suitable for the task at hand.
topic/theory

The author provides at least one relevant example of scientific research related to the
What scientific experimental work being performed. The author briefly discusses the techniques or findings of
research has been the previous research and explains their relevance to the author’s own work.
done in this area
previously? The author supports their claims with at least one literature citation (reference) which is
different than that used to discuss the importance above.

States objectives
The overall purpose of the experiment and most of the objectives and hypotheses are present.
and/or hypothesis

The author provides the reader with a brief but clear statement that adequately outlines the
general content covered in the rest of the report.
Tells the reader what Example of general content: In this report, the concentration of chloride ions in a sample of tap
to expect while water was determined using a variety of spectroscopic and analytical techniques [Experimental]
reading and compared to health outcomes of populations served by the water sources
[Results/Discussion]. Based on the findings, suggestions for remediation of contaminated water
sources are presented [Conclusions].

Experimental (15 pts)
The experimental section should be written so that an analytical chemist outside this class can repeat your experiments
using only the information in this section (and any cited sources) and find the same results you did.

All chemicals used are indicated within the context of the experiment (not simply listed out).
Indicates chemicals
Significant details, such as physical state, stock concentration, exact amount used (0.23 g), etc.
used
are included. There may be two or fewer instances where specific details are missing.

All materials used are indicated, and special equipment is briefly described.
Describes materials
and equipment used Examples of key information: type of glassware, manufacturer of a probe, name of software used
for data collection

Procedures for all sample preparation and experimental methods employed in the report are
present, including how the data was collected from the experiment. Example of how data was
collected: the wavelength with the highest absorbance was noted.
Describes repeatable
While the organization of the procedures does not have to follow a logical manner, it must not
procedures
detract from the overall ability of someone to follow your procedures.

The procedures must be written in paragraph form and cannot be written as an outline,
bulleted or numbered list. No more than one redundant procedure may be included.

The procedures are concise and avoid repetition, but up to one redundant procedure or trivial
detail may be included. Examples of trivial details: how to use a volumetric flask, how to use
Avoids redundancy LoggerPro software, calculating the correct mass of chemical to use
and non-experimental
details Experiments/trials that did not provide useful data to the report are excluded.

Specific data values and methods for data analysis are excluded. Example of excluded data and
analysis: The absorbance was 1.28, the activation energy was calculated using the Arrhenius
equation, the slope of the line was used to find ε.

Results (25 pts)
The results section should contain all the relevant experimental data you collected and explain how you are using the
data to justify the results presented. Please check the end of each specific lab to make sure any required results are
included.

Data are presented in informative tables and figures (calibration curves, spectra, etc).
Tables, figures, and
Each table/figure has a number and descriptive title, and appropriate labels and/or a caption,
spectra (where
allowing the table or figure to stand on its own. No irrelevant data is included.
appropriate)
Calibration curves must include the relevant least squares metrics on the graph.

Provides a description of the main points of each table/graph. Examples of main points:
average value, trends in data.

Explanation of data The author explains step-by-step how the data was analyzed (not sample calculations) to
analysis and objective obtain results, and any significant objective results are clearly reported in text. Note: Data
results analysis should rely predominantly on verbal explanation supplemented with equations. Sample
calculations alone do not constitute an explanation in your analysis.
 All information included in the Results section is pertinent to the experiment and is elaborated
on in the Discussion section.
All data is useful and
reported clearly All relevant results are presented as “mean ± uncertainty” with the appropriate number of
significant figures. The uncertainty is properly defined (i.e. defined to be one sigma, absolute
uncertainty, relative uncertainty, 95% confidence interval, etc.).

All relevant calculations are demonstrated for at least one value (e.g. student demonstrates
Sample Calculations how uncertainty in instrument signal was propagated to give uncertainty in analyte
concentration for at least one measurement).

Discussion (25 pts)
The discussion section is the part of your report in which you describe what your results mean. Please check the end of
each specific lab to make sure any required questions are included.

Discusses the importance and meaning of all results presented in the Results section and
combines specific results into a coherent interpretation of the system/phenomenon. Does not
simply restate the data analysis from the Results section. While this could be done in a more
Interpretation and clear, concise, or logical manner, it must not detract from the overall ability of a reader to
synthesis of understand your results.
experimental results
Includes chemical rationale in the interpretation where applicable. Example of chemical
rationale: The pH of the solution was 7.0, indicating that the strong acid-strong base titration was
at the equivalence point.
 Relates obtained results and interpretation to experimental objectives and/or hypothesis.
Compares numerical results to literature values. Makes use of at least one relevant literature
source (reference) that is unique (different from those used in the introduction).

All key questions posed in the lab procedure are addressed.

All appropriate statistical tools are used to discuss the results in the context of accuracy,
precision, limits of detection, limits of quantitation, etc. and to compare/contrast measurement
methods and/or methods or calibration.

Sources of error and Lists several possible sources of experimental error and explains specifically how at least
how they influenced one of them affected experimental results. Note: Human error or lack of time are not
obtained results acceptable source of error to discuss. Example of specific effect of error: [specific error] caused a
higher than expected concentration of NaCl, so the measured rate was higher than it should have
been.

The statistical analysis is used to discuss the broader implications/conclusions of the results.

Conclusion (10 pts)
Your conclusion should be a short summary of your paper. It also contains thoughts on how your work could be
expanded. What experiments would you have done if you’d had more time? What could another scientist do to continue
your work?

All of the key quantitative values and qualitative results and conclusions of the experiment are
summarized. While this could be done in a more clear and coherent manner, it must not detract
Overall interpretation
from the overall ability of a reader to understand a summary of your findings. One instance of
of results
units or significant figures may be incorrect.

Articulates at least one possible extension of the work and how and why it would be an
extension. How could another scientist expand on the work you’ve already done? Why would
this extension be meaningful? Simply repeating the experiment with no meaningful change is
Possible extension of not an extension.
work Example of an extension: While this paper focuses on the ion concentrations of Minneapolis tap
water, future studies focusing on the ion concentrations in St. Paul, St. Cloud, Duluth, Mankato,
and Rochester tap water systems would allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the tap
water systems in metropolitan Minnesota cities.

Significance of The author briefly addresses the impact that their findings have on real-world applications for
conclusions non-scientists. The logic employed is mostly correct and coherent, but the applications may be
overly specific or tangentially related.

References ( 5 pts)
The references section is a list of the references you used and cited within the text of your report. Failure to include
citations will result in a zero on the lab report.

References are indicated in the text with a superscript number at the end of the sentence,
In text use of
based on the order in which they appear in the text. At most one statement is made that should
references
be cited but is not.

At least three unique, verifiable references other than the lab manual, lecture and your
Number and quality of textbook are used within the report itself. Examples of verifiable references: papers in academic
references journals, newspaper articles, books, databases. Examples of non-verifiable references: Yahoo
answers, Wikipedia, a peer’s lab notebook

References are formatted correctly in accordance with official ACS style.

https://libguides.williams.edu/citing/acs

Example: The ion-selective electrode contains a crystal membrane of lanthanum fluoride doped with 1% w/w
Reference formatting of europium fluoride.1

1. Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, “Determination of Fluoride Concentration Using

an Ion Selective Electrode,” Laboratory Manual for Chemistry 2111: Analytical Chemistry, 2002, 23-
17.