In many science labs students are given a handout which they are to complete and submit at the end of the lab period. These labs help build certain skills and are a useful part of the development of scientific technique. Beyond introductory labwork, science students and science professionals record their work in a laboratory notebook. In industry this is an important document which can be used to prove the date upon which an invention was discovered. Typically a scientist in an industrial lab will be asked to sign and date each page in her lab notebook and have a coworker read each page and add their signature. Our notebook will be a little less formal than that but it will record data in the same way that a professional scientist would do so.
Basic structure
Use the first two pages for a Table of Contents including title of each lab and pages used. In the table of contents list all pages on which a given lab can be found.
Number and write only on the front of a notebook page. On the backs of the pages you can write any scrapwork calculations, reminders, ideas, etc. Use the front for actual notebook entries, the backs are for convenience. Do not write scrapwork on traditional spots: handouts, paper towels, filter paper, or (as my daughter does) the back of the hand!
Date the notebook at the beginning of each lab period.
Each page should correspond to only one date or one lab. In other words, anytime you begin work on a new day, begin working on a fresh notebook page. This is true even if the previous notebook page was nearly blank. Also, if you are working on two different labs in the same day, begin a fresh page every time you switch from one lab to the other. Do not leave blank pages for an incomplete lab so that you can go back later to complete the lab. Every page in the notebook should be written in chronological order.
Content of the laboratory notebook
A laboratory notebook is your own record of the lab experience. As such, personal style is to be encouraged. Several elements must be present in your notebook; however.
First, each lab must clearly define a Purpose. Some of our labs are designed to teach a specific experimental technique, others give a lab example of a lecture topic. Whatever the purpose, it is important to begin a lab day by stating the main goals and purpose. Some labs may require a step-by-step flowchart or checklist of each simple operation in a complex procedure. This can be written separately and inserted into your notebook for quick reference. Each step should be checked off to avoid duplication of steps. This portion of the notebook must be written before arriving at lab.
Next, the main bulk of the notebook will be filled with Observations. These must be written during the lab, not afterwards. The notebook is not meant to be a diary of "what I did in lab today" but instead is an active account of "what just happened." To this end, the notebook must always be present in lab, always open, and always active. Do not write on separate pages with the goal of copying into the notebook later. The notebook must contain the original record of the lab. When making an entry, it is convenient to reference either the time of day at which the entry is made or a reference to a lab handout or flowchart. For example, your entry might begin:
2:12pm The color of the solution began to darken as ...Finally, each laboratory should end with a Summary. In some cases this will require the writing of tables, drawing of graphs, or some other organization of the large amount of data collected during lab. In other cases, you will be required to make certain specific entries such as calculation of limiting reagents and percentage yield in a synthesis laboratory. In other cases you may need to reflect on the meaning of the data obtained: what does it tell us about the nature of the reaction which occurred? In every case, you should refer back to the original purpose and comment on the ways in which this lab either satisfied or failed to fulfill the laboratory's initial purpose. This portion of the laboratory notebook can be written outside of the lab.
or
At step 21 in lab checklist, the color of the solution began to darken ...