Formal Chemistry Lab Reports
In writing laboratory reports, follow the outline listed below, making sure to write reports in a
concise, yet complete and clear manner.
Important Notes:
*Be sure to use third person, past tense, passive voice, and proper grammar!
e.g.-the solution was prepared by…or The solutions were made using…
**Don't use acronyms until you have first named the substance or technique and cited its
acronym.
e.g. – potassium acid phthalate (KHP)
* Typed reports should be single-spaced; handwritten reports should be done clearly in ink on a
non-spiral edged paper (preferably on a a carbon-copy laboratory research notebook).
The Report
Title: List the title of the experiment as given at the top of the cover page of the laboratory
procedure packet for that experiment.
Objective (or Purpose): Use a single sentence to state explicitly the specific goal of the
experiment and the analytical method used.
e.g.- The objective of this experiment was to use Beer's Law to determine the concentration of
Cr(III) in an unknown.
* Instrumentation (if applies): List the manufacturer, model number, and general type(s) of all
the instruments employed in the experiment.
e.g. – Spectronic- 21 vis spectrometer
Procedure: Briefly but thoroughly describe the following in a general manner:
How solutions were obtained or prepared and used in analysis
Amount(s) of substance(s) used
Volume and concentrations of solutions if required by instructor
Measurement process
