Lab writing samples (CHEM111)

Winter, 2012-13

The key for writing a consistently acceptable procedural narrative is that it is a story of what you did and what happened during an experiment. Third person, past tense is typical. Avoid the imperative case (which makes it sound like a cookbook rather than a recorded history). Passive voice is generally considered suitable for chemistry narratives. Here are a few examples. Some are a little advanced compared to what you are doing, but the style should be clear. Expect me to be easy on you at the beginning and to ramp it up as the class moves along. Reaction of sulfuric acid and potassium hydroxide. 30 mL of 3M potassium hydroxide was poured into a 100 mL beaker and the temperature was measured by digital thermometer to be 14.3 C. 5 mL of 12 M sulfuric was slowly added to the beaker. During the addition, vigorous bubbling was accompanied by the immediate production of heat. After swirling the solution for 15 seconds, the solution was cloudy and its temperature was measured as 23.5 C. Preparation of solutions. To a 100 mL beaker containing 3.781 g of sodium chloride, approximately 80 mL of deionized water was added. The mixture was stirred until the solid dissolved and then additional water was added to the solution until a final volume of 100.0 mL was achieved. The mass of 10.0 mL of this solution was then measured in a 50 mL beaker. Synthesis of ice. Approximately 15 mL of water was added to each well of a plastic 12-well tray. The tray was then placed into a 20 C freezer for 8 hours. The tray was then removed and the solid cubes were removed from the tray and added to a beverage.