Cookbook versus Creative ChemistryA new approach to research-oriented general chemistry laboratoryThe importance of the laboratory in chemistry instruction is generally accepted by most educators. However, many general chemistry laboratory programs, in the opinion of the authors, suffer from some or all of the following drawbacks: (1) the educational objectives of laboratory instruction are often vague, and seldom stated, (2) most laboratory programs at the undergraduate level follow a "cookbook" approach, (3) the emphasis is generally on how to do the experiment and arrive at results known beforehand, i.e., very little importance is given to understanding the principles or logic underlying the experimental approach.