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Logb

The document provides guidelines for maintaining a log book to record experimental details and results. Log books should contain sufficient information to reproduce experiments and may be needed for legal purposes. Entries should be neat, dated, in ink and made contemporaneously with experiments. Materials added to log books must be securely attached and signed.

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chemist1412
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24 views

Logb

The document provides guidelines for maintaining a log book to record experimental details and results. Log books should contain sufficient information to reproduce experiments and may be needed for legal purposes. Entries should be neat, dated, in ink and made contemporaneously with experiments. Materials added to log books must be securely attached and signed.

Uploaded by

chemist1412
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LOG BOOK

The purpose of the logbook is to record daily progress of experimental and other
pertinent information related to the experiment. It should contain sufficient information
and commentary to enable reproduction of the experimental results at some future date.
The logbook can be used as evidence to establish patent rights for a new discovery. It
may be needed to protect the researcher and to establish legal liability in a lawsuit. In
some laboratories, the logbook must be signed by someone who witnessed and
understood the experiment.
The logbook must be bound so as not to lose any relevant information. No pages are to be
removed or added unless clearly noted.
The logbook should be brought to each laboratory period or meeting session in case some
information is needed and/or is to be added. All entries should be dated, entrant name
indicated, printed, neat, logical, in ink (to preserve longevity), entered at the time the
event took place, and original. Any pages that are left intentionally blank, including the
back sides, should be marked as "Blank." If any material written in the logbook is to be
ignored, i.e., bad data, the material should be neatly crossed out and never erased or torn
out. The logbook is the working record of the experiment and recopying of information
into the logbook after the laboratory period is not desired. Corrections and crossed out
material are normal, and a logbook that appears perfect may be suspect. Items such as
computer generated listings and plots that cannot be conveniently placed in the logbook
should be neatly and securely placed in a notebook or 3-ring binder.
The logbook is to be turned in Thursdays as indicated. It will be graded and then
returned during the following lab session.
Log Book Guidelines
The Log Book must accurately record the laboratory experiment. All handwriting must
be entered in ink, and must be clear and legible. Unclear or illegible work will not be
graded. The readability of the Log Book will be improved if greater spacing is utilized in
the written material.
Any material that is affixed to the Log Book (e.g. figures, charts, etc.) must be securely
taped into the Log Book (tape at least opposite sides). After inserting material in this
manner, the owner of the Log Book must sign his/her name such that part of the signature
is on the attachment and part of it is on the original Log Book page. This ensures that
nothing is added to/removed from the Log Book at a later date.
At the end of each lab session, everyone must have the lab TA sign his/her Log Book.

Format

HEADING (TITLE)
Date:
Experiment Number:
Group, Team Members; Supervisor:
Temperature, Barometer Reading, Humidity:

When a workstation is continued from a previous lab period, indicate this. Include the
major heading that is being continued.

OBJECTIVES
Provide a brief summary of the objectives (no more than two or three sentences or several
bullets) of the experiment. Think about specific physical behaviors you seek to observe
and quantify. Do not include educational objectives, such as “learn more about heat
transfer” or “understand mass-spring-damper systems,” etc.

PLANNED PROCEDURE
Do not copy the procedure from the Lab Manual. Try to summarize using only several
sentences or bullets.
• Measure the voltage produced by a power supply using a DMM.
• Record 10 trials and calculate uncertainty… etc.
This is a pre-meditated "plan of attack" that is completed prior to starting the experiment.
It should include all aspects of the lab, from beginning to end. Modifications to this
procedure are made in the “Actual Procedure and Findings” section, which is completed
during the experiment.
EQUIPMENT LIST
A table or list of all the equipment needed to carry out the experiment.
Oscilloscope Model: Tektronix TDS 1002 S/N: C038204
Digital Multimeter Model: HP 34401A S/N: US36079920
Power Supply Model: 6612C S/N: 453746064
Function Generator Model: HP 33120A S/N: US36017794

ACTUAL PROCEDURE AND FINDINGS


The Lab Manual and experiment handouts do not provide a complete description of the
procedure you might perform. Present here what your actual procedure was and what you
found out in the process. This should be detailed! You do not need to include things like
“Turn on power supply,” but it should include enough information so that anyone with
your background could repeat the lab using only your logbook.
A schematic diagram of the experimental setup for each workstation is required for all
experiments. Be sure to label all components of the diagram. Use descriptive titles for
figures (and tables). Figure captions go below the figure; table headings go above the
table.
As you perform the experimental procedure you will have “Findings”. The “Actual
Procedure and Findings” may include subheadings such as "Experimental Data", "Data
Reduction", "Procedure Modifications", etc. Computer printed tables or figures can be
taped into the Log Book. Please do not use staples.
Calculations for data reduction should be explained in this section and the references that
are utilized to obtain physical properties, theoretical models, etc., need to be cited. The
Findings section (as well as the Conclusions) should be written in a technical manner.
Avoid the use of subjective/qualitative words like "good" when describing the
experimental results, unless numerical values are included that quantify the meaning of
"good." The Findings section is important and merits substantial effort. As an example,
discussion of the heated water workstation of Exp. No. 1d can compare the calculated
energy which is required to heat the water compared to the measured value, and give
possible reasons for the differences observed. Data Reduction should include sample
calculations along with the data. Additional information regarding the procedure can be
added including a step-by-step procedure and equipment settings.
Ask yourself whether or not you or someone else with a similar background could
repeat the experiment at a later date using just your Log Book.

RESULTS
This section includes plots, tables, etc. exhibiting the raw data obtained in lab. Plots and
tables should be clear and highlight the interesting aspects of the lab. Plot axes should be
scaled so that the data are clearly displayed within their range of interest. Figure captions
are placed below the figure; table headings are placed above the table. You may include
the raw data itself when it is reasonable to do so. However, large amounts of raw data
should be kept in a separate binder or folder rather than taped into the logbook.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Analysis includes calculations performed using the raw or reduced data. The Discussion
includes detailed explanations of the physics involved, along with any unexpected data or
trends observed, etc. This section should explain and quantify the natural phenomena that
drive the behaviors you observed.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS


The Conclusions section should summarize the main points of the lab and should not
introduce any new concepts that have not been discussed in a previous section. It should
briefly outline how the results fit within the context of the objectives set out at the
beginning of the experiment. The Conclusions section should state whether the objective
of the experiment was achieved, and prove that the purpose of the experiment was
understood.
The experimenter should also include any recommendations for future experimenters.
Please remember that recommendations are not complaints, but rather they are
professional, specific suggestions for changes you would make in the future if the
experiment were repeated.

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