Good laboratory practice requires that data be accurately kept in a laboratory notebook. In this course, students will be required to keep a laboratory notebook. Bound notebooks (see link below for an example) may be purchased in any of the local bookstores.
Before coming to the laboratory, students must read the experiment and outline the experimental procedure either in flow chart form, sentence form or paragraph format. Students must write the procedure outlines in their own words. This procedural outline must be signed by the Instructor or Teaching Assistant before starting the laboratory.
The notebook is also used to keep a record of data and calculations. Pertinent data and calculations are then transferred to the laboratory report form which is then handed in to the Teaching Assistant. Students who merely copy the procedural outline from others will not be able to work efficiently in the laboratory and may not complete the experiment on time. Students who do not have the procedural outline or fail to bring notebooks to the laboratory will receive a one point deduction on the laboratory report.