How to write my chemistry lab report? Where to start? Is it important to format a laboratory report in accordance with the teacher’s requirements? We have collected the necessary information for you, which will help you write and format everything correctly.
What is it?
A chemistry laboratory report is an independent practical task, with the help of which the knowledge and skills of students are tested. Unlike tests and exams, it allows the teacher to better understand how well the student has mastered the material. A lab report’s purpose is to deepen and consolidate the theory and to develop the ability of independent experimentation.
Not only chemistry students face such a task but also students of other technical and natural sciences.
Title of a laboratory report
Information for placement:
- educational institution
- department
- course, type, and title of the paper
- surname and initials of the student
- information about the teacher: full name, academic degree, position
- city, year
This is your guideline in title formatting, but do not forget to take into account the requirements of the university and teacher.
The content of the laboratory report
It has three main elements:
- Introduction
- Main part
- Conclusion
Introduction
The most important thing in the introduction is to justify the relevance of the study. Explain and prove why this topic is important and how to use it to solve an issue. The rationale is an explanation of why the topic should be studied and carried out within the framework of its scientific research and experiment.
It is easier to formulate the justification using standard phrases and expressions, such as:
- The topic is socially significant, since …
- In view of … the problem is of great importance …
- The problem is interesting because …
An important part of the introduction is a description of the object and subject of research. To understand what is the object and subject is very simple: an object is what you study and research. Ask yourself the question, “What am I considering?” A subject is the problem, individual aspects, features, and properties. All this should be investigated within the framework of the object being studied. Ask yourself the question, “What am I studying?” For example: the object is New York City. The subject is the dynamics of the population of New York City.
Now let’s look at the goals and objectives. The goal is the result that you want to achieve in the research process. It is very simple to formulate a goal: it is enough to take any active verb – to research, check, etc. – and add an object of research to it. It is best to list the objectives in a list, starting each of them with an active verb like summarize, find, consider, calculate, etc.
Main part
The main part consists of theory and practice. In theory, present and describe the area of interest in detail. For this, you will need all the articles, textbooks, books, and other literature on the topic. The teacher appreciates when you approach studying the object from all possible angles.
Make sure you study all the available literature. Be sure to include all sources of information in the bibliography. Practice implies the use and consolidation of knowledge acquired in the process of getting to know the theoretical base. It is important here to describe, in detail and step by step, all the actions that you performed in the process of execution, as well as the result obtained.
Conclusion
In conclusion, summarize the results of the research and experiment done. But remember that simply retelling everything is not enough. You must once again confirm and justify the importance of the goals and objectives formulated by the relevance.
Basic requirements do not regulate all the nuances of writing and format. Usually, they are supplemented by the requirements of the university or teacher. All this must be agreed in advance. In this way, you will be prepared for writing a high-quality chemistry lab report.
