Pre-Lab
- Read lab slides and exercise to prepare lab journal before arrival.
- Maybe QUIZ covering last week's lab or covering this week's pre-lab.
- QUIZ might be a check of your lab journal to be sure you prepared the TOC, page numbers, tables from exercises, or to check that you wrote out your hypothesis / prediction, that you recorded data, did your PUNNETT SQUARES... etc.
Lab Notebook
MUST be brought to each lab session – points deducted if not.
EVERYTHING should be recorded here:
- leave 5 pages for table of contents (TOC); number all pages
- each experiment title page - title, purpose, date!
- data collected (tables), data analysis (calculations or graphs)
- any observations, including weird ones,
- ideas, relevant sketches
- conclusions, next steps
DO NOT WRITE OUT A 'ROUGH DRAFT' OF LAB NOTES on other paper, with the intention to transfer it all into a 'PERFECT' lab notebook. Nooooooo... This can get you fired in the biotech industry labs and clinical medicine. It always creates mistakes. There is often a subconscious bias introduced that misrepresents the procedure or changes the data.
- Mistakes they happen!
- Do NOT use whiteout, do NOT blackout with sharpie, do NOT scribble out, do NOT rip out pages with mistakes
- Do draw a simple "X" or line through the mistake and make the correction. "Correction on next page." You might go back later and find the ‘mistake’ was correct.
Structure
WRITE CLEARLY. Follow the format below with HEADINGS.
- Cover
-
- Name
-
- Year
Table of Contents
_TOC
- Date - Experiment Name.............................. page numbers
Title Page
- on a separate page!
- Title
-
- Write as shown on exercise.
- Purpose
-
- Write as given.
- Date
-
Experiment
- Hypothesis
-
- If needed.
- Prediction
-
- If needed.
Method
- Method
-
- "Refer to lab exercise: 'title and year'.".
-
- Do NOT rewrite handout.
- Brief Steps
-
- Bullet point the brief steps.
-
- Check off each step once completed.
-
- Formulas Used
-
- If needed.
Troubleshooting
- What Went Wrong?
-
- How did you work around?
-
- Describe any mistakes made, or deviations from exercise protocol.
-
- It's okay, mistakes happen!
Notes
- Class Notes
-
- If I write it on the board, you should be taking notes in your lab notebook.
- Relevant Drawings
-
- Relevant drawings are useful.
- Observations
-
- Include odd/cool observations about the experiment; they may not make sense now, but may later, in retrospect.
Results
- Collected Data
-
- Here is where ALL data collected are documented, examples:
-
- chromosome drawings, penny flips, dice rolls, corn kernels counted, punnett squares, tables from exercise to complete.
-
- If you create something in PPT or Excel, or snap a Photo - PRINT IT & tape it in notebook.
-
- Did math?
-
- Show your work!
Conclusion
- Exercise Questions
-
- Answer questions in exercise, explain results, refer to your data in your answers.
-
- If there's a hypothesis: reject or fail-to-reject it.
LAB REPORT / WRITE UP
Due the week after the experiment is completely done.
- Questions posed throughout the exercise – answer always in the lab notebook! Questions at end of lab protocol – don't forget to complete them!
- Use PQA = part question part answer to complete sentences.
- Reference your notes, your observations, your data when discussing results.
- Write up must be in lab journal in your handwriting. Write in legibly, handwriting must be readable.
- If using a photo, excel graph, or something from elsewhere: TAPE/STAPLE it INTO THE JOURNAL.
SUBMIT REPORT
ALL Lab Notebook pages from Title to Write Up.
- Upload photo(s) of all material in Canvas Assignment for that experiment.
- ABSOLUTELY NO emailed class assignments or submission: use Canvas upload.