Name:________________________
PHGN/CHEN/MLGN435/535 Pre-Lab Assignment #1
Due Tuesday, January 19, 2015 at the beginning of class (12:00)
Ok, I understand it’s not popular to give you an assignment before the class has even
met, but we have to get this stuff out of the way before we can safely (and productively)
head into the lab.
1. Write a paragraph telling me about you. It can be what you hope to get out of this class,
out of CSM, or anything you feel like writing. No more than a half page is fine. Please
email me the paragraph at sclausse@mines.edu.
2. Get familiar with the course website: http://inside.mines.edu/impl/. It hasn’t yet been
updated with our class info, but will be sometime soon (hopefully). However, it still
contains all the information we need, and you will be referencing it constantly.
3. Read the section on our course webpage dealing with lab notebooks. Look at the links
as well. Come to class on Tuesday with a lab note and prepared to begin using it as a tool.
Half of you will be working in the lab for the first time on Tuesday, and you will need
your lab notebook to record procedures. If you can’t get one by Tuesday, make sure you
have one by the next class period, and update it with entries from Tuesday.
Often, people prefer to use Google docs on a laptop as their lab notebook. That is fine. If
you’re heading into the lab on Tuesday, please bring this with you.
At least once during the semester I will review your notebook (at random) and provide
some comments back so you can improve. Hopefully, by the end of the course, all our
skills at keeping a running "diary" of our work will have improved.
4. Read the sections on the website dealing with chemical safety and waste disposal. We
pay careful attention to safe practices and being good to the environment in this course.
On the first day of class I will ask each of you to sign the chemical safety sheet.
5. Read over Modules 1 and 2 under Experiments which is where we will begin and be
prepared to answer (and ask) questions about those procedures when we meet. This is
vital- read through all the links, so that you know what you’ll be doing when you step in
the lab.