[Deleted_Account_1457]

First time posting here so forgive me if I mess up. If this is not the appropriate forum, do let me know.

Ah lab reports. The bane of my life. I love science so much but lab reports are something that give me a headache. I got 35/100 for my first biology lab report, so I'm kinda really sad about this. Nevertheless, I decided to join this forum to see if I can get help.

So the experiment I did today was determining what an unknown solution is using flame test, reacting it with ammounium carbonate/phosphate/sulphate for the cation, and halide tests for the anion.

So I found out that my compound is strontium iodide.

Now how do I go about writing it?

A standard lab report consists of aim, introduction, materials, methods, results, discussion, conclusion and references.

I need a lot of help with the introduction, results, discussion and conclusion. Exactly these parts give me the biggest amount of pain.

What's even harder is that reputable sources are hard to come by, so I end up giving lots of irrelevant stuff. Could anyone teach me how to write a good report (or if you can a really good example in pdf) and find good sources?

[Borek]

Any analytical textbook describing qualitative cation/anion analysis will do as a reputable source IMHO.

[Babcock_Hall]

The Results section should be just the facts without speculation.  It should guide the reader through any tables and figures.  Discussion sections can cover many things, including implications for further experiments or what could have been done differently in the present experiment.

[Deleted_Account_1457]

Any analytical textbook describing qualitative cation/anion analysis will do as a reputable source IMHO.

But exactly how do I find them? Like how do I find such sources online? I cant seem to find much free books.

Also, my lecturer said citations in lab reports are for opinions and not facts. Exactly how does one distinguish between an opinion and fact in science books? Considering how most content in science books are facts, this seem like an impossible feat.

Off topic but is it against the rules to upload my lab report here and ask people to critique it? Like is it against the forum rules or anything? I read the rules before but I may overlook some stuff. And is it even possible to upload files as pdf here? It doesnt look like it's possible.

Sorry if I ask too many questions. I feel like a really dumb person when it comes to lab reports.

[Deleted_Account_1457]

The Results section should be just the facts without speculation.  It should guide the reader through any tables and figures.  Discussion sections can cover many things, including implications for further experiments or what could have been done differently in the present experiment.

Thanks.

If I may ask, exactly how does one explain an anomaly in an experiment? I dont know if it's just me but a lot of experiments I done in school tends to get some pretty weird results. My teacher says things like "find out why the results occurred that way on the internet" but I dont think that's a really helpful advice.

Last week, for a biology lab experiment to observe the effects of pH on enzyme activity, the amylase had the fastest reaction at pH 4 solution when the correct pH should be 7. At first I thought I had mixed up the test tubes or something so I retried. And I still get the same results. Apparently everyone had the same thing so it's definitely not human error on my part. But I really did not know how to explain that because I couldnt really find out why and ended giving nonsense answers in the discussion. I just handed in that report a few days ago and haven't gotten it back, but it wouldnt surprise me to see really low marks for the report.

So exactly how does one explain anomalies in an experiment? Typing "my amylase solution worked better in pH 4 and not 7" on Google isnt helpful at all. It's because of these things that always make me mess up in lab reports.

(You dont have to answer my above problem. I just need advice on how to go about explain odd readings in experiments.)

[Borek]

Any analytical textbook describing qualitative cation/anion analysis will do as a reputable source IMHO.

But exactly how do I find them?

Library. Large room, books on the shelves.

Internet is not the only source of information.

[Babcock_Hall]

In the specific example of amylase, you could say that the fact that the experiment was repeated lessens the chance that the result was a mistake.  BTW the pH optimum of amylase depends on the source of this enzyme.  You could also think in terms of what factors are most likely to have cause a result that is clearly in error.  For example in my experience beginning students could easily make a 20% error with respect to the volume delivered by a micro-pipettor.  If one sees a thousand-fold error in a lab report, one might begin to suspect an error in a calculation.

[Doc048]

I would suggest searching the internet for some reports already published and studying the organization and style. Be sure to clear with prof then develop your original around one that you understand and defends your objectives.  Good luck. :-)

[B9766]

By and large, lab reports are subject to the whims of your professor in any given topic. There are many different formats and requirements. Schedule a meeting with your professor to discuss her/his thoughts and requirements. If you are unable to do that, find another student who has taken the course from that professor and ask them what works and what doesn't.

In general, the APA Style Reporrt (6th edition) can be a good format for creating a lab report. This is a Word document style you can download. In Word, click on "New" and then type "APA" in the search field. The style should appear as a choice. Download it and use it to start your report. The style contains paragraphs that explain the kinds of information that should go in each section. As a bonus, the style makes it very easy to do citations and references.

As for references on something like the problem you posed:

The problem is really very basic and doesn't lend itself to finding germane information. But, in general, if you use a search engine like Google or DuckDuckGo and you type "Journal" followed by something from your problem, you will often find scholarly articles that say something about the topic. For example, the problem you posted was (in part) about a halide test. Typing in, "Journal Halide test for anion" I found 8 articles. Scan the articles and find something interesting you can bring up in your paper, then cite it. Sometimes it may be nothing more than a textbook explanation that's better than the one in your text book. On something as basic as the topic you raised, I would expect the professor to ask only for references to your assigned text book. That's not uncommon.

With these tools in hand, search for journal articles in chemistry. Scan them - don't try to understand them. You're looking for style and form. Learn how a scholarly article is written by the kinds of content the author(s) provide.

In the end, the professor may only want you to copy the information in your lab assignment and then provide a paragraph of conclusions. That's not uncommon either. Again, ask him/her what she/he expects.

I hope that helps.

[Traumatic Acid]

Also "google" scholar is a good place to get journal articles from. You may have to pay for a few of them but by and large if you spend enough time at it you can gather a fair few useful references.
Do not cite wikipedia, but what you can do is find information that you may need on wikipedia, and then go to the reference they used and try to find it on google scholar or in the library.

You may find that you have free access to a lot of papers you may otherwise have to pay for, thanks to your current enrolment in your university.  Try using your uni details to get them.

There are many templates online about this kind of thing. If you have a "task sheet" or any other instructions in your lab book / in your course outline online make sure to follow them as closely as you possibly can.

Good luck!