How is Your Laboratory Work Evaluated?

1. Preparation, procedures and clean up. ~20%

Before coming to a lab day:

a prelab must be completed (summary of procedures and appropriate diagrams)
Know the procedure and safety considerations.
Perform the experiment carefully and safely.
Careful with treatment of chemicals and proper use of instruments.
Clean up

Due to safety, students who are not prepared for the lab will NOT be allowed to perform the
experiment.

Part of the mark will come from how you have performed the experiment as evaluated by your teacher. That is, were you
serious about the experiment, or were you just an observer, not contributing to the group? What that means is that I will be
walking around the room evaluating your understanding of what the lab is all about. Another important thing is to prepare before
the lab, by reading the assigned readings and doing the pre-lab assignment and paying close attention to the instructions.
Students are responsible for the clean-up. All instruments must be placed back to the original storage area, all chemicals returned,
and the lab benches cleaned.

2. The lab report, format. ~10 %

Neat and well organized

Follow the general format used in chemistry
Titles, subtitles, underlined and in order

It is important to have a relatively neat and well-organized lab report. In your report, have well labeled diagrams, graphs,
underline titles of major sections such as purpose, conclusions, etc. Make sure that your graphs are organized. Is the data and
calculations well laid out? It is also important that you follow the guide on how to write lab reports and make sure you include all
the sections that are outlined in the guidelines provided.

3. Experimental results, ~10 %

Record data (correct units and digits) and observations in pen

Organized in tables (as much as possible)

The results include the data you obtained in the experiment, graphs, diagrams, observations, etc. For some
experiments, your mark will not necessarily depend on how close your data reached the accepted values, while in other
quantitative experiments, your results will certainly make a difference in your mark. Obviously, if your results are close to the
accepted values, this means that you followed the experimental procedures very closely, or you were extremely fortunate. If your
data is totally off, this could be indicative of how you performed the experiment, that is, this indicates that you did not prepare
yourself well enough for the experiment. So, do a good job with your lab and you will have good results. Remember that most of
your marks come from the analysis of results.
Do not use “correction fluid” or write a “rough copy”. This practice shows that you do not consider your data as a
document, and you should then not receive credit for data collection. Make sure that you record your data with correct uncertainty
and correct units.

4. Analysis of Results: ~35 %

Clearly “present” your calculations. One can just look at the work and know what is being done.
Outline what you are doing (this is a report)
Provide brief descriptions of your final analysis.
 Graphs need to be scientific and clearly show the relationships studied.
Graphs have correct descriptive titles and show appropriate analysis.
Answer any assigned questions in full sentences.
Do not include the original questions,

A very important part of the report involves the analysis of the results you obtained. Depending on the lab, you may do
lots of calculations, analyze graphs, and answer questions. The guide states that all questions must be answered in full sentences
and all your calculations must be labeled and the final answer must have units and correct significant figures. If the calculations
are repetitive, you only need to provide a sample calculation, and then organize your results. Remember that this is a report, so
report your results!!! I know that this is a lot of work, but .... Well, that is exactly what you need to do in your reports. When you
write your report, try writing it as if you were writing the report to someone who does not know any chemistry. You need to clearly
present your analysis.

5. Discussion ~ 20%

Evaluate results from the experiment

Provide explanations for results that do not coincide with expected results
Evaluate results and provide possible explanations for errors

6. Conclusion:
Outline the objectives of the experiment and provide the results of the experiment.
Evaluate the successes and/or failures

In the Discussion section, you will write a mini essay that provides a deeper understanding of the principles explored in the lab.
You will use this section to evaluate your result and how the result compares with theory. There are errors inherent in any lab work.
The discussion section is also the section that allows you to provide reasoning for any discrepancies found between your result
and theory. The discussion section used in this course is not a formal discussion used when writing a Formal lab as in AP Biology
class. The discussion section allows for a more free writing format that allows elaboration and proposing possible solutions for the
results. A discussion in a formal report would use these written ramblings and fine tune into more formalized writings.

The report should be comprehensive in itself. The discussion section (10-20%) is very important since it shows how much you
know about the experiment.

The Conclusion would be a summary of results obtained in the experiment. This section is very concise and right to the point.

Laboratory Component Evaluation:

You may receive a quiz on your lab work. That could be in the form of a pre-lab quiz or a post-lab quiz. And depending on the lab,
you may even be required to perform a practical lab exam. This practical exam is done at the end of the year after you’ve had a
chance to develop your lab techniques and when you have a better understanding of experimental design.

Note that the lab techniques, analysis and content learned in the labs are going to be part of your summative assessments. You
will have a lab portion in your tests.
Your Lab reports and Assignments Graded using proficiency scales:

Here is a rough translation into point grades:

10 Fulfills and excels all expectations and shows exceptional understanding of the experiment.
Everything is just beyond “peachy”! Excellent effort and work done. The report shows that
the student has an excellent understanding and has added additional material supporting
understanding. The report is very well organized and neatly presented. Data was collected
properly, and well analyzed. The discussion is well written and shows a good understanding
of the purpose of the experiment and error analysis.
9 Fulfills all expectations and shows a very good understanding of the experiment. Everything
is “peachy”! Has done all the work expected.
Everything is very good!
8 Parts of the report are incomplete or incorrect, but shows generally a good understanding of
the experiment. Needed to elaborate on some key concepts. Everything is reasonably good!
7 Parts of the report are missing or not well done, but shows a relatively good understanding of
the experiment. Needed further elaboration on your explanations.
This is just acceptable but more effort was needed on future assignments.
6 Shows misconceptions but the report is still acceptable. Parts of the report are not done.
Parts of the report are not well organized. Did not show a good understanding of the key
concepts. More effort is needed.
Actually this is barely acceptable!!!
5 and Hmmm…. Do it again!!!! If not redone, then no credit is provided. Go over the comments
below on the report and fix those sections. Provide a new report and include the “old” one. This
new report is due within one week of receiving the comments.

Extending: 10
Proficient: 8-9
Developing: 6-7
Emerging: 5 and below, but you’ve got to do it again

Note that your initial grade is what you will be used to calculate your course average. If students show
improvement in the quality of their assignments towards the end of the year, the initial assignments MAY
be excused at the discretion of the teacher.