i need help with a chemistry lab report?

CHM 1210L General Chemistry Laboratory I revised 3/10/15

Analysis of Hydrated Copper Sulfate Supplemental Grading Rubric

• Refer to the main guidelines on Pilot – those are the ones we’ll be grading from. This supplement is to provide some additional help specific to this experiment.

• Resources/references. In order to explain the background for gravimetric analysis, you’ll want to use some good resources. Cite and reference them correctly. o The lab manual and recitation slides. o The CHM 1210 Library class guide. (see Pilot) o If you use other sources make sure they are reliable, well cited in the text wherever used and

referenced. Make sure they are not from another version of a student report on this topic from here or elsewhere.

o Do NOT work on the report with others. o Do NOT show or share your report with other students.

Writing should be grammatically correct for full credit. • See grading rubric on Pilot for more details on method of grading and as a checklist.

Most categories are: o Missing = 0, Inadequate = 1, needs improvement =2, Complete and well written = 3. Total points

are then scaled to maximum of 25. o Some categories:

Missing = 0, Inadequate = 0.5, needs improvement 0.75, Complete and well written = 1

Title, name, partner, GTA name and section. • Descriptive title that refers to the main point(s) in the report and is not the one from the manual.

Purpose or purposes: (see description in Lab Report Guidelines) • Places to look for the purpose(s): o this can be a listing of several points, goals, and or claims. They

should include both general and detailed purposes. • Was the goal the answer to a scientific question, identification of a compound, or develop a technique?

o What will the final claim (conclusion) be? If you know that, it can clarify what the purpose was or should have been. (Normally you would start with the purpose and proceed toward the claim at the end.

• Use these statements to write the rest of the report

Introduction - - - Must be in student’s OWN words!! • What is going to be determined through this experiment • Quickly explain the methods (NOT entire procedures) used to make this determination. • In-text citation of reference(s) used to develop theory. Theory - - - to be explained within the introduction • Explain the theory behind the calculations.

o Explain what are elemental analysis and gravimetric analysis. o Describe what an empirical formula is. o Explain how copper, water and sulfate will be determined.

• How will data from the lab be used to answer the question stated in the purpose? o What reactions were used? Name both reactants and products. (numbered)

Experimental Methods - - - The method for each component should be briefly stated. • In-text citation and end of report reference to the manual for the detailed procedures (see Lab

Guideline outline for exact reference. See ACS style guide for other reference citation methods). • Variations in actual procedure from the manual, for example, sulfate by difference. • Brief, clear description of the procedure so the reader need not have the manual to understand the data

and discussion.

o Written in paragraph form in the proper grammatical style. Third person. Not a list of steps.

Data & Results - - - All calculations should have some text describing the purpose of the calculation. The data should be presented within the text or a table and the reader should be directed to this information in the text, no matter the format of its presentation to the reader. Not ALL measured data needs to be included, only information directly used in calculation of the empirical formula for example, filter paper weights are not necessary.

This section should NOT just be a list of calculations. Explain what each number in the calculation physically represents and what the calculation is being used to determine.

• For the copper determination. • For the water determination. • For the sulfate determination. • Calculation/determination of empirical formula. • All Equations numbered and discussed in the text.

1 Students must give credit for source of any data they did not collect themselves (for example due to absence).

Discussion • Students should describe how their data compares to the known values both as percent’s of each

component and the overall formula (Cux(SO4)y•zH2O). • Students should discuss how well the experiment worked and how the experimental design might be

improved. Students should discuss how their performance in the lab could be improved. • Students should describe uncertainties and sources of error (“human error” NOT acceptable!)

o Consider uncertainties in equipment and propagation through calculations o Consider sources of error as discussed in recitation- need to discuss error and HOW it would

impact the final answer (too high/too low/why?) (see slides for both weeks).

References should be present, Must have two or more references. Be aware that this section and in-text citations may be graded more severely with this and future JAR’s.

• NOT Wikipedia and NOT a lab report from WSU or Elsewhere. • List more than one reference • List references in MLA or ACS format • Provide a valid citation for the known empirical formula • Use in-text citations.