Lab Syllabus: basic techniques

Organic Chemistry I, Fall 2004

Faculty contact information

Dr. Rachel Jameton                                                      rajameton@lcsc.edu                

Phone: 792-2268                                                         Office: MLH 231                     

Office hours: MWF 1:30 - 3:00 pm; W 7:30 - 8:30 am; Th 9:00 - 11:00 and by appointment

Introduction

            This semester is the first of a two-semester laboratory series.  We will focus on the basic organic chemistry laboratory techniques of isolation, characterization and synthesis as well as experimental design, drawing conclusions from data and communication of results.  Next semester, you will use these techniques in an independent project focusing on natural products.

Texts

                There are no texts for this class.  However, we will use an on-line resource to learn basic techniques.  You can link to this website (http://orgchem.colorado.edu/hndbksupport/ochemlabtech.html) from the organic chemistry link page at http://www.lcsc.edu/rjameton/linksochem.htm.

            You will need to purchase goggles and a composition book for lab.  You may wear a labcoat if you wish, but it is not required (see the section on safety).

Special needs

            If you have any special needs such as a documented learning disability or other situation that limits your access or ability to participate in class or lab, please discuss the situation with me as soon as possible so we can make appropriate arrangements. Assistance with accommodations can also be found at the Office of Student Life, room 111 Reid Centennial Hall.

Email contact and the website

            Your WarriorWeb e-mail account is the official method of communication between the college and yourself and so you should check your account daily.  If you have trouble accessing your account, make sure you work out the problems as soon as you can by calling or stopping by the computer help desk (located at SGC B102 or phone 792-2231).

            Our class does have a website (http://www.lcsc.edu/rjameton/ochemhome.htm).  At the website, you can find this syllabus and handouts, as well as links to sites that you might find interesting or helpful.  If you need a handout, you can print it out from the website.

Safety

            Lab safety is of paramount importance.  Come to lab appropriately attired (wear pants, closed-toe shoes and your safety glasses) and alert.  Be aware of the potential hazards of the chemicals that you are using by reading the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).  There will be a complete safety orientation the first day of lab.

Assignments

            Attendance and participation

            Both attendance and your full participation are vital components of the lab and your lab grade (see grade distribution below).  Our lab time is in the late afternoon, when people are often tired and hungry. This is problematic because your full attention is needed to make your lab experience useful and safe.  Make sure that you are prepared to stand and focus for three hours by resting before lab (if possible) and bringing a snack if you need to. 

            Lab notebooks

            The goal of your notebook is to give yourself and others the ability to read and reproduce your work. This means that you should enter yourdata in well-labeled tables, using complete sentences when recording observations and explain all entries clearly.

            Always make entries directly into your book in ink - never write data on loose sheets to be transcribed later in neater form. Never write in pencil.  If you make a mistake, cross it out.  Paste or tape graphs, plots, photos, computer print-outs, etc. into your notebook.

            Leave a few pages blank at the front of the book for a table of contents and update that table each week. Date each page of your notebook each day that you work in the laboratory as well as any day that you make entries in the notebook (such as when you do calculations, etc).

            Each laboratory description should consist of six parts, which roughly follow the scientific method (use the underlined words as headings, except for the title):

            Title: Use a descriptive title and start a new page when you begin work on a new  experiment.

            Purpose: Begin with a paragraph describing the reason for the experiment. Make sure  to clearly state your hypothesis.

            Procedure: Describe what you plan to do. Make sure that it really tests your hypothesis.

            Experimental: Describe exactly what you did (not what you planned). Emphasize any  deviations from the procedure.

            Results: Describe the data that you discover in your experiment.  Remember to enter the data in well-labeled tables, use complete sentences when recording observations and explain all entries clearly. Be sure to include units for every number. 

            Conclusions:  Describe what you can infer from your results and what your data tells you.  Connect those inferences back to your hypothesis, describing both consistencies and    inconsistencies. Describe what you should do differently next time, what further experiments should be done and what avenues might be interesting to explore.

            Lab write-ups

            Your lab write-up is a narrative description of your work written after the lab using what you wrote in your lab notebook.  The idea of a lab write-up is to bring together the results of your experiment clearly and concisely. The tone should be serious, clear, and to the point.

Write-ups should be only 1-2 pages including data, so avoid wordiness and tangential material.

            As in your lab notebook, the organization of your write-up should reflect the scientific method. The sections are as follows (use the words in italics as headings):

(1)    A descriptive title

(2)    A few lines (fewer than ten) of Introduction including why you are doing the experiment as well as what you'd like to discover and a clear hypothesis.

(3)    A narrative description of your Methods.  This should not be a rehash of the lab protocol.  Rather, it is your experience.

(4)    A presentation of your results using tables, figures or plots and the inferences that you can draw from them should be in your Results and Discussion section.  Include sample calculations in this section and discuss what your data tells you.

(5)    Discuss sources of error, comparison of your results with your hypothesis and ideas for future experiments in your Conclusion.

In grading your lab write-ups, I will focus on one section each time (a different one each week).  The feedback that you get will look something like the rubric shown below.

Grade distribution

Grading scale

Plagiarism Policy

The vast majority of students are honest. However, in the rare instance that plagiarism (or cheating, fabrication or collusion) is apparent, it will be dealt with in accordance with college policy. 

Course timeline

Date: 8/5/04

Contact: rajameton@lcsc.edu

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