Lab Report Guide, Fall 2023
Follow report writing guide to get better grade as it is 55% of the entire grade
Lab Reports must be typed in Font: Times New Roman size 12, double spaced, and double sided.
Title Page (2pts):
Include Experiment number and title, Class name and Lab section, Student name (underline it),
partner name, instructor name and date (experiment was performed) centered at the front page. See
example at the bottom! Start your report from next page after title page.
Objective (5pts):
Describe in few sentences what is the purpose of this experiment? Don NOT copy manual, make
your own objective!!! Paraphrase. No bullets, no more than 3-4 lines.
Example: The goal of the experiment today is to learn basic lab operations; example measuring mass of
an object, lighting a Bunsen burner. Second goal is to find the density of unknown solid and
liquid.
Introduction (10pts):
In 1 to 2 paragraphs include any background information, important definitions, formula used
and techniques used in the experiment. (DO NOT INCLUDE PROCEDURES or any data)
Procedure (5 points) :
In your own words, write down the procedure to perform the desired experiments (Follow notes exactly
and write steps for part of the experiment to be performed) showing each step in bullet points, not in form
of a paragraph. DO NOT WRITE SOMETHING THAT WAS NOT DONE IN CLASS. Very important
for successfully performing the experiment in class!!
Data Sheet (10pts):
Before you come to the lab, prepare table to record all you collect. Take help of manual’s Report
Sheet. Data in the form of a table are preferred as shown below.
Example:
Liquid
Density - Liquid
Unknown #____
Trial 1
Trial 2
A. Mass of Cylinder (g)
B. Mass of Cylinder
+ liquid (g)
Mass of the liquid (g)
(B-A)
Volume of liquid(mL)
Calculations (20pts): (HAND WRITTEN)
Show your calculations clearly, step by step. DO NOT USE PENCIL, ONLY permanent ink pen
Write formula, input data with correct units and correct significant figures, and block in
answers.
Example:
D = 2.550/2.5 =1.02 (calculator answer) = 1.0g/mL (round to 2SF)
Results/ Discussion (10 pts):
State your final results with correct units and appropriate significant figures. If more than one
trial is performed, report also, the average value of the result with standard deviation.
Example: Density of the given solid was found to be ____, _____ and _____ g/mL. The average
value of density was calculated to be __________g/mL with a standard deviation of
+/-________g/mL. If literature value is available, calculate % error:
%error =
DO NOT INCLUDE any collected lab DATA here.
In 1 to 2 paragraphs:
 State any possible errors that contributed to your results.
 Discuss any problems that occurred and source of uncertainty in your lab procedure that may
account for any unexpected results;
 Compare your results to literature values, if available.
Conclusion (3pts):
Summarize in 1 paragraph your results. Are the objectives of the experiment fulfilled?
Did you learn something?
Class behaviors (10 points) : instructor will judge your tardiness and preparation towards
experiment.
Both you and your partner are responsible to clean your workspace and anything left in
side the hood at the end of experiment. Otherwise, you lose 10 points in the report.
Class attendance is worth 25 points. Total =100points
Example of title page
Experiment 1- Basic Laboratory Operations
General Chemistry I Lab 1111._ _
put your section no.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Fall 2023
Partners Name:
Date experiment was performed: