Organic Chemistry Laboratory Lab References

The Laboratory Notebook

Your notebook will serve as a permanent record of your experimental work. It will contain the information
you need to complete your work efficiently and safely, and you will use the information contained in your
notebook to write laboratory reports explaining your results. For these reasons, it is important that your
notebook be complete and accurate. As a general rule, a good notebook is one from which someone else
can repeat your experimental work in the same way that you have done it.

I. General Guidelines:
1. Your notebook must be bound and the pages numbered.
2. Write your name, the course name, and section # on the cover or front page.
3. Always use permanent ink, not pencil.
4. Write it down NOW. Your notebook is a log of what you do as you do it.
5. Use complete sentences.
6. Write everything in your notebook. Weights, temperatures, everything! When recording
experimental data, always include units.
7. Do not erase! If you make an error, draw a single line through it, and continue. The original
statement should still be legible.
8. Never remove original pages from your notebook.
9. Date every page as you use it.
10. Write legibly! If your notebook is illegible it will not be graded.

II. The Notebook:

Each experiment recorded in your notebook should contain the sections outlined below. Late notebook
pages will not be accepted.
Sections A - E must be completed before you begin the experiment. This is the prelab. I will verify
that this section is complete. You will not be allowed to proceed with the experiment if you have not
completed the prelab.
Section F, the Experimental Section, is recorded as you proceed each day.

 Prelab: Completed before you arrive.

A. Title:
Give the experiment an accurate, descriptive title.

B. Purpose:
Discuss the general purpose of the experiment in two or three sentences. If the experiment is a
synthesis (as opposed to a technique), write the chemical equation, including reagents and expected
product(s). For multistep syntheses, write one equation for each transformation, including the
preparation of reagents.

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C. References:
Cite the reference upon which your experimental procedure is based. In most cases this will be your
laboratory manual and/or a supplemental handout. Also cite the source(s) of the information found
in the Chemical Properties & Safety table (part D).

D. Chemical Properties & Safety:

Make a table that lists the chemical properties of all reactants, reagents, and solvents that you will
be using in the experiment as well as for the products you will make. This table should include the
name of the compound, MW, density, mp, bp, etc. For each compound, also list the toxicity (if
known), and any other important safety information (flammable, corrosive, irritant, etc.). Some
useful references are provided at the end of this handout. A sample table is shown below:

E. Research Plan:
This section will include specific instructions on how to perform the lab. It must be complete before
you arrive. In combination with the Experimental (Section F; completed during the experiment), any
reader should be able to repeat the experiment as you did it based on what you have written here. To
prepare this section:
• Split the notebook page in half vertically.
• Briefly outline the procedure you will follow on the left hand side of the page. Leave the right
hand side blank. You will use it later to record procedural modifications, data, and observations
when you actually perform the experiment (section F).
• You do not need to use complete sentences when preparing the research plan, but your outline
should provide enough detail that you can work directly from your notebook, using your lab
manual only as a reference for clarification. Include the amounts of reagents you expect to use.
As appropriate also record reagent purity and/or concentration.
• Incorporate any changes that were made in the lab lecture.
• Use your own words. Do not copy directly from the text or handout (this constitutes
plagiarism!).
• If there are multiple parts to an experiment, you must provide an outline for each part.
• This is also the place to draw any specialized laboratory set-ups that you will use.

 Experimental Section: Recorded as you proceed each day.

F. Experimental:
This section of your notebook is written during the course of a laboratory period, and should be
recorded on the right hand side of the pages that contain the Research Plan (section E). An example
follows. This portion of the notebook is a record of what you do as you do it. You do not need to
rewrite the entire procedure, but you will need to note any deviations from the Research Plan. Record
your data and observations completely and accurately. The information included here may help you
understand later if your experiment was successful, or what went wrong. This section must be
completed before you leave the lab for the day.
• Describe any changes to the procedure that you make during the course of the experiment.
• Record the actual amount of reactants, reagents and solvents that you use. Include units.

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• Record your observations. Include any thoughts you have about what may be going on. Note
any difficulties that you encounter.
• Make sure to record any melting points, boiling points, weights, etc. before you leave the lab
whether you think you need them or not. Chances are that you will. Drawings of TLC plates
should also be included here. Be sure your data is clearly labelled such that someone else would
be able to figure out what it represents.
• Don’t forget to record the physical characteristics of any compounds you isolate (e.g. solid,
liquid, shape of crystals, color, etc.). Has purification resulted in any physical change?
• Other things you might wish to record: the formation and identification of layers, the evolution
of heat or gas, the formation and characteristics of a precipitate, reaction time, unknown
number if applicable, or your partners name (if any) - for most experiments you will work
independently.
• At the end of each day initial and date what you have written.
• Show your notebook pages to your TA before you leave each day. These pages will be graded
as part of your laboratory report (Appendix D). Late notebook pages will not be accepted.

Below is an example of the research plan, with experimental details, data, and observations filled in as
they would be during the laboratory period.

III. References:
The following references will be helpful as you complete your prelab. You will find all of these sources
at the EPCC Library or on the web. Please familiarize yourself with them as you will use them
frequently throughout the semester.

General Chemical Properties & Safety:

1. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (2009-2010) QD 65.H3
2. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (2011-2012) REF QD65.H3
3. The Laboratory Companion QD42.T49 2008
4. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry REF QD 65.L362
5. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients… REF QD415.A25L48

Resources on the Web:

1. SIRI MSDS Index * http://hazard.com/msds/index.php
2. Sigma-Aldrich Home Page http://www.sigmaaldrich.com

* The Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is the best source for safety information. Many
chemical properties can also be found here.

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