Laboratory Notebook in the Inorganic Chemistry Lab

1. Purpose of lab notebooks

Individual lab notebooks should provide a complete and permanent record of all
aspects of all experiments. It should be possible at any time in the future, using the informa-
tion contained within the lab notebooks to replicate exactly what was done in any given
experiment. The lab notebook should produce a record of a scientific experiment that is
understandable to a knowledgeable reader and can be used to repeat the experiment and,
presumably, get the same results.

2. Style of Notebook
The basic lab notebook should have three characteristics: 1) it should be bound and
sturdy, 2) the paper should be of high quality (durable and long-lasting), and 3) pages should
be numbered. There are a wide range of notebooks that meet these criteria available for
purchase at the UNF bookstore or equivalent location.

3. Lab Notebooks
Here are some general rules:

1. Lab notebooks are not designed to be works of art, but accurate records of
everything done and observations about the experiment (and you may find it helpful
to include what you thought). Use it as a real-time log rather than a report written
after the fact. Avoid writing data or observations on scraps of paper for later
inclusion into your notebook. This could lead to errors and to missing information.
In certain cases, it may even raise questions regarding the accuracy of your records.

2. Notebooks should be numbered and have a clear indication on the cover and binding
of your name and the inclusive dates (start and end dates).

3. Provide your current contact information (e.g. phone number, e-mail address) as
well as the name of the lab professor and their contact information. This can be
placed on the outside or inside cover of the notebook.

4. One or two pages should be set aside at the beginning of each lab notebook to permit
the creation of a table of contents. If different types of experiments are contained in
the same notebook, an index grouping experiments by type may be used.

5. All writing must be easily legible, both to you and others. Record all information in
permanent blue or black ink. Never use pencil or brightly colored ink.
 6. If corrections must be made, the incorrect information should be crossed out with a
single, indelible line (wrong data), permitting the original entry to be read but
making it clear that you wish to delete it. One should never erase or white-out data.

7. All information should be entered in chronological order.

8. There should be no blank spaces except in so far as this is necessary to permit you to
start a new experiment on a fresh page. In this case, a line should be drawn through
the blank space.

9. No pages should ever be removed from a lab notebook. All pages should be
consecutively numbered.

While entering information into your lab notebook, keep in mind that it may prove
to be an important record for you (or in certain cases another person many years from now).
Short-term memory is just that, short-term.

4. Entries for Individual Experiments

For each experiment, your entry should include the following:

1. A unique numerical designation and a descriptive title. This will enable you and the
lab professor to quickly find the right notebook and page for this experiment.

2. Date of entry: Each entry for a given experiment should be dated. If an experiment
lasts several days, a new date should be added. If additional experiments are done in
the interim, and you are keeping all experiments in a single notebook, pages should
not be skipped but an indication of where a given experiment is continued should be
provided at the end of a day’s entry (e.g., “continued on page 23”). The page the
experiment is continued on should also reference the page the experiment was
continued from (e.g., “continued from page 18”).

3. Purpose: A few sentences summarizing what you hope to accomplish with this
experiment written before you arrive to the lab to do the work.

4. Safety: Include a brief overview of safety hazards associated with reagents used in
the experiment.

5. Methods: Include all details needed to allow you or a fellow student replicate your
procedure precisely. This includes which reagent bottles (company, catalogue
number, purity, and lot number), solutions (date made, person making it), and pieces
of equipment. In most cases you may wish to include sketches of your experimental
apparatus.

If you were assisted in any way by others, their names and description of assistance
should be entered.
 Note: You may be able to indicate that some additional details can be found in
previous experimental write-ups. In that case it is not necessary to repeat the details.
However, be specific about where that information can be found, and be sure that the
information is still accurate.

A reagent table should be prepared listing various reagents and chemical formulas,
amounts in grams and moles, and other pertinent information [mp, bp, density,
amount used (g & mol), notes etc.].

6. Results.: all data, all experimental calculations, and all incidental observations go
directly into your lab notebook. “Data” refers to primary data as well as any
subsequent transformations or analyses. Since these are results that you observed,
any words used to describe them are typically provided in the past tense.

All data should be entered whether or not you feel that some data should not be
included in your subsequent data analysis. If you should have a clear reason for
excluding the data from your analysis, provide a reason that is stated explicitly and
would be generally accepted (e.g., >2 standard deviations from the mean or resulting
from an obvious technical error such as an incorrect chemical, etc.).

There are several cases in which it is not practical to place the actual raw data in
your bound notebook (see "Special Cases" below). However, even in those
circumstances it is essential to provide an indication of where the data can be found.

7. Conclusions: A short paragraph stating your conclusions and, where appropriate, a

discussion of possible future experiments.

5. Special Cases:

It is no longer practical to place output from some pieces of equipment into a notebook.
Thus, it is acceptable to store certain forms of data in a loose leaf notebook and/or an
electronic medium with a clearly labeled with your name. Be sure that information in your
notebook is adequate to permit a reader to find these data and (in the case of a disk, CD, or
DVD, or flashdrive) to display the data.