Transcript The Laboratory Notebook

The Laboratory Notebook
A laboratory notebook:
says exactly what was done, and when;
makes clear who did it;
enables someone else to do the same thing at some
future date;
is durable and verifiable.
can be beautiful, creative and valuable
A Laboratory Notebook Should:
Be hardback and bound
Be maintained using ink not pencil
Never contain erasures
Have numbered pages
Have a ‘Title Page’
Have a ‘Table of Contents’
A Laboratory Notebook Might:
Have spills and blots
Have errors neatly lined out
Have notes in the margins, ideas and thoughts
Have diagrams and drawings
Have inserts of actual data objects such as a
photograph or a piece of filter paper
All Data Goes Into the Notebook,
Drawings Should Be Labeled
Photos
may be
glued or
taped
into a
notebook
Enrico Fermi, laboratory notebook, 1941.
In the months before coming to Chicago in the spring of 1942, Fermi and his
team of physicists at Columbia University worked on a preliminary design for
an atomic pile. With Leo Szilard, Walter Zinn, Herbert Anderson, and other
colleagues, Fermi devised a lattice structure of graphite and uranium oxide
for an "exponential" pile and calculated the requirements for a selfsustaining chain reaction.
This is the historical
page of a laboratory
notebook where Luis
Miramontes describes
the invention and
synthesis of the
chemical that would
become the first
contraceptive pill.
This page out of a laboratory notebook shows a beautiful
illustration.
Test tubes showing gas formation of solutions of serum and other
substances
British Library Add. MS 56148, f.157
Copyright © The British Library Board
Filter paper, showing absorption of Brilliant Green antiseptic
British Library Add. MS 56148, f.17
Copyright © The British Library Board
Actual data recordings are affixed to
these pages. Note the stamped page
numbers.
Advanced Laboratory Notebook, Joseph N. LeConte, ca. 1890
A typical outline for a laboratory
An Introduction to Your Experiment
This includes the title of the experiment, a short statement of the
problem or the task and the date. It is very important to record the
complete date – day, month and year! It may be relevant in some
procedures to even record the time.
The Experimental Plan
You do not need to recopy an entire procedure from a book or
handout – you can reference the book or handout. Record a
simplified, bulleted, summary of the procedure. Include a list of
materials used. It is also VERY IMPORTANT to include any safety data
about materials used.
Observations and Data
Observations and data lead to the acceptance or the rejection of a
hypothesis and indicate possible future experiments. It is important
to:
Record honestly
Record immediately
Do not use scraps of paper to record numbers and then recopy them –
copy all data directly into the notebook
Never erase, never over-write – cross out with a single line any errors
Never use white out!!!!!!!!
Graphs and Diagrams
Illustrations will greatly enhance your notebook. Label diagrams.
Follow rules for excellent graphing technique when making graphs.
Analysis of Results
Comment on what occurred, what has been demonstrated, what
has been discovered or proved, and explain any data and
observations in terms of any relevant theories.
Discussion and Conclusions
Discuss problems, challenges, errors. Include suggestions for
improving a procedure or reducing error in the experiments.
Comment on the success or failure of the experiments.
A Well Kept Laboratory Notebook Is Useful
The time you spend developing your laboratory notebook leads
to successful formal laboratory reports. It is much easier to write
about information and experiences if you have detailed notes
that were taken while events unfolded.
Organization is important. While you do not need to be extremely
neat you and others need to be able to read what you write.