Laboratory Activity on Sample Handling and Maintaining a Laboratory Notebook through Simple pH Measurements

Abstract

Sample handling and laboratory notebook maintenance are necessary skills but can seem abstract if not presented to students in context. An introductory exercise focusing on proper sample handling, data collection and laboratory notebook keeping for the general chemistry laboratory was developed to emphasize the importance of keeping an accurate notebook. The exercise requires minimal technique or prior knowledge, and as such provides students a comfortable introduction to the college laboratory setting. Details of the activity, including preparation, background, procedure, and postactivity instruction, are provided. Alternative uses and application of the activity are also proposed.

Identificat’ions: A Battle Card Game to Learn Chemical Tests and Practice Observation and Reasoning

“…Students also get to know the precise vocabulary of an observation (such as precipitate or effervescence) so that later on in their educational journey they will be able to record them in a laboratory notebook. , …”

“…• Students also get to know the precise vocabulary of an observation (such as precipitate or effervescence) so that later on in their educational journey they will be able to record them in a laboratory notebook. 58,59 • A careful observation is crucial especially as the same detection reagent (per example sodium hydroxide) can be used to prove the presence of different analytes. For instance, sodium hydroxide may form a green or a red precipitate according to whether it reacts with iron(II) or iron(III) ions.…”

Incorporating Interlab Collaborations into the Organic Chemistry Teaching Laboratories

“…Since a key learning goal of the chemistry laboratory is the development of notebook-keeping skills, , notebook evaluations were administered at least once each semester, and sometimes before and after these interlab collaborations. These notebook evaluations search for 10–15 pieces of data, observations, and other information from a set of experiments in each student’s notebook (see Supporting Information for example quizzes).…”

An Approach to Improve Laboratory Notebook Feedback and Decrease Instructor Fatigue from Grading Undergraduate Laboratory Notebooks

“…Finally, the recorded laboratory notebook is a legal document and can be used to settle disputes regarding the timing of scientific discovery ( 10 ). Thus, producing a proper laboratory notebook is an essential skill and a typical learning objective for most STEM courses ( 11 ).…”

“…For laboratory instructors, evaluating and providing good feedback for laboratory notebooks is time-consuming. Laboratory notebooks with poor penmanship, disorganization, insufficient details, and poorly collected or missing data are all common problems that slow down the grading process ( 11 ). After hours of grading, fatigued instructors may grade inconsistently or provide less feedback ( 12 , 13 ).…”