The University of Lethbridge Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Chemistry 2740 Laboratory Appendix C

Laboratory Reports
Your laboratory reports should be modeled upon the form of a typical report appearing in a chemistry journal. Such reports usually have several sections, including an Introduction, an Experimental section, a Results section and a Discussion section. A typical chemistry journal article would be reporting original research whereas your reports will not. As a result your report will need to be modified from the form of a journal article. An outline of what to include under the various sections of your report follows later but first here are some general comments about the structure of your report. Clearly indicate the format (formal/short) of the report you are submitting. The various sections of your report must be organized. Therefore, the Introduction should precede your Experimental section and so on. Reports are written in standard prose form. In other words, ideas are presented in complete sentences that are organized into paragraphs. This means that however complicated the report may be, there is a narrative thread, written in sentence and paragraph form, which runs through the report and holds it together. Cryptic phrases or incomplete sentences are not acceptable in a report. Also, reports should be written in the past-passive tense and should not contain any subjective words (I, me, we, you, etc). Equations, tables and figures must be introduced in the narrative of the report. Thus, at the appropriate point in a report the readers attention is drawn to an equation, table or figure. For example, "The data from the experiment along with the transformed data for determining the apparent first order rate constant k' are found in Table 1." At this point the reader would consult Table 1. Tables and figures should have titles and equations should be numbered for reference. Your report is exactly that a report on what you have done and is not intended to be a recipe or lab manual that describes how to perform the experiment. This makes an important difference in the language that is used.

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Appendix C Formal Laboratory Reports Here are some ideas about what to include in the various parts of your report. Introduction The introduction is usually used to provide the background and justification for the research that is being reported. For your reports, which do not involve original research, a more modest objective for the introduction is to give the reader a clear but concise picture of what the experiment is intended to achieve. Some of the things that should be mentioned are: the stoichiometry of the reactions that are relevant; the overall rate law for the reaction and any simplified rate law; any noteworthy equations that will be used in the experiment; the methodology that is used to follow the reaction. Experimental Since the details of performing the experiment are given in the lab manual it is not necessary to repeat them in your report. Instead you can refer your reader to the lab manual and then outline briefly what experiments were done. Often this can BEST be accomplished by giving a table that contains the concentrations of the various reactants in the different experiments. The intent of this section should be to give your reader an idea of what experiments were done without having to read the lab manual. Results Your results section will most likely form the largest part of your report. Here you report your data and the results of your calculations. It is helpful to organize your data into one or more tables. These tables should also contain the results of calculations that are necessary for making a graph from which you will determine the rate constant. Remember that tables and graphs should have titles and should be introduced in the narrative; table titles are given above the table, while graph titles are given at the bottom of the graph. Graphs should have their axes labeled with the units indicated where appropriate. It is imperative you chose appropriate uniform scales for the axis. Discussion Normally this is where the significance of your original research results is discussed. In your case there is not much to discuss that anyone is interested in reading. As a result it is probably advisable to combine the Results and Discussion sections.

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Appendix C Formal Laboratory Reports Conclusion The purpose for this section is to conclude your report with a short summary of your results. The summary could take the form of a small table. Any required lab questions should be addressed in the conclusion section of the report. References References should be presented using a consistent format that includes all of the following information: author, title, edition (when relevant), publisher, location published, year published, pages used. When referencing websites, list the url and the date visited. Calculation Section You are required to append an example calculation sheet(s) and show an example of all calculations included in your report. This section does not have to be computer generated but must be legible and organized.

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Appendix C Formal Laboratory Reports Example Formal Report - A Kinetic Study of the Hydrolysis of Methyl Acetate by J. Eng Introduction The hydrolysis of the ester methyl acetate in aqueous solution follows the stoichiometry
O CH3COCH3 + H2O Methyl Acetate H+

CH3CO2H + CH3OH Acetic Acid Methanol .

The reaction is catalyzed by hydrogen ions and follows the second order rate law Rate = k [CH3CO2CH3] [H+]. (1)

Because the hydrogen ion acts as a catalyst the reaction behaves as a first order reaction with the rate law Rate = k' [CH3CO2CH3] where k' = k [H+]. (2)

This reaction can be followed analytically by sampling the reaction mixture and titrating the samples with sodium hydroxide for the total acid concentration. The acid in the reaction mixture consists of H+ from the catalyst (HCl) and the acetic acid, CH3 CO2H, produced by the reaction. The total acid concentration and the HCl concentration allows one to calculate the CH3CO2H concentration. One experiment was carried out to determine values for both the apparent first order rate constant k' and the second order rate constant k. Experimental The experiment was performed according to the instructions for Experiment 0, A Kinetic Study of the Acid-Catalyzed Hydrolysis of Methyl Acetate (Chemistry 2710 Manual, Spring 2006). The initial concentrations of hydrochloric acid and of methyl acetate in the reaction mixture were both 0.100 M and the reaction mixture was kept at 25C in a thermostatic bath. At approximately 10-minute intervals, 25.00 mL aliquots of the reaction mixture were removed and poured onto ice (to slow the reaction) and titrated as quickly as possible with 0.100 M sodium hydroxide solution using phenolphthalein indicator.

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Appendix C Formal Laboratory Reports Results and Discussion The titration volume used to titrate the acetic acid product was calculated using the equation Titre Volume for CH3CO2H = Total Titre Volume 25.0 mL. (3)

This number was used to calculate the acetic acid concentration in the reaction solution using the equation [CH3CO2H] = (Titre Volume for CH3CO2H(mL) x 0.100 M) / 25.0 mL (4)

which in turn was used to calculate the concentration of unreacted methyl acetate according to the equation [CH3CO2CH3] = 0.100 M [CH3CO2H] . (5)

The apparent first order rate constant for the reaction was determined using the integrated first order rate equation ln [CH3CO2CH3] = k't + ln [CH3CO2CH3] o (6)

from which it can be seen that a plot of ln [CH3CO2CH3] versus time should yield a straight line with slope equal to k'. The data from the experiment along with the transformed data for determining the apparent first order rate constant k' are found in table 1. Table 1. Data and Calculations for Determining First Order Rate Constant for the Hydrolysis of Methyl Acetate
Time (min) Titration Volume (mL) Titre Volume for Acetic Acid (mL) [Acetic Acid] (M) [Methyl Acetate] (M) ln [Methyl Acetate]

1.25 10.20 19.55 31.20 40.75 50.50

26.12 32.45 37.35 41.67 43.93 45.75

1.12 7.45 12.35 16.67 18.93 20.75

0.0045 0.0298 0.0494 0.0667 0.0757 0.0830

0.0955 0.0702 0.0506 0.0333 0.0243 0.0170

-2.348 -2.656 -2.984 -3.402 -3.718 -4.075 Page C - 5

Appendix C Formal Laboratory Reports These data were used to construct a plot of ln [Methyl Acetate] versus time (see Figure 1) which according to equation (6) has a slope equal to k'. The slope of the best straight line through the data was calculated using linear regression to be 0.0350 min-1 with correlation coefficient of 0.9999. This means that the apparent first order rate constant k' for the reaction is 0.0350 min-1 from which the second order rate constant k is calculated to be 0.350 L mol-1 min-1 using equation (2).

In summary, the hydrolysis of methyl acetate was found to behave as a first order reaction in 0.100 M HCl with an apparent first order rate constant k' of 0.0350 min-1 and a second order rate constant k of 0.350 L mol-1 min-1 at 25C.

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Appendix C Formal Laboratory Reports Calculations (This is the only section of the report that does not have to be computer generated but MUST be legible.) Time 1.25 minutes, [H+] = 0.100 M = = [CH3CO2H] = 26.12 25.0 mL 1.12 mL

Example calculation for Sample #1 Titre Volume for CH3CO2H

0.100 M x 1.12 mL 25.0 mL

= 0.00450 M [CH3CO2CH3] = .100 M 0.00450 M = .0955 ln[CH3CO2CH3] = 2.348 Slope for plot of ln[CH3CO2CH3] vs time is 0.0350 min1 Therefore k' = 0.0350 min1 k = k' [H+]

k = 0.350 L mol1 min1 Note: The formula spreadsheet used for the lab report maybe submitted in place of an example calculation section. If you choose this option you will be required to submit a spreadsheet with cell addresses so that your calculations can be checked.

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Appendix C Formal Laboratory Reports Example Short Report - A Kinetic Study of the Hydrolysis of Methyl Acetate by J. Eng

Introduction
O CH3COCH3 + H2O Methyl Acetate H+

CH3CO2H + CH3OH Acetic Acid Methanol

Rate = k [CH3CO2CH3] [H+]. Rate = k' [CH3CO2CH3] where k' = k [H+].

(1) (2) (3)

ln [CH3CO2CH3] = k't + ln [CH3CO2CH3] o Experimental

The experiment was performed according to the instructions for Experiment 0, A Kinetic Study of the Acid-Catalyzed Hydrolysis of Methyl Acetate (Chemistry 2710 Manual, Spring 2006). The initial concentrations of hydrochloric acid and of methyl acetate in the reaction mixture were both 0.100 M and the reaction mixture was kept at 25C in a thermostatic bath. At approximately 10 minute intervals, 25.00 mL aliquots of the reaction mixture were removed and poured onto ice (to slow the reaction) and titrated as quickly as possible with 0.100 M sodium hydroxide solution using phenolphthalein indicator. Results Table 1. Data and Calculations for Determining First Order Rate Constant for the Hydrolysis of Methyl Acetate
Time (min) Titration Volume (mL) Titre Volume for Acetic Acid (mL) [Acetic Acid] (M) [Methyl Acetate] (M) ln [Methyl Acetate]

1.25 10.20 19.55 31.20 40.75 50.50

26.12 32.45 37.35 41.67 43.93 45.75

1.12 7.45 12.35 16.67 18.93 20.75

0.0045 0.0298 0.0494 0.0667 0.0757 0.0830

0.0955 0.0702 0.0506 0.0333 0.0243 0.0170

-2.348 -2.656 -2.984 -3.402 -3.718 -4.075

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Appendix C Formal Laboratory Reports

In summary, from the plot of ln [Methyl Acetate] versus time (see Figure 1) which according to equation (3) has a slope equal to k. The hydrolysis of methyl acetate was found to behave as a first order reaction in 0.100 M HCl with an apparent first order rate constant k' of 0.0350 min-1 and a second order rate constant k of 0.350 L mol-1 min-1 at 25C using equation (2).

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Appendix C Formal Laboratory Reports Calculations (This is the only section of the report that does not have to be computer generated but MUST be legible.) Example calculation for Sample #1 Titre Volume for CH3CO2H Time 1.25 minutes, = = [CH3CO2H] = 26.12 25.0 mL 1.12 mL [H+] = 0.100 M

0.100 M x 1.12 mL 25.0 mL

= 0.00450 M [CH3CO2CH3] = .100 M 0.00450 M = .0955 ln[CH3CO2CH3] = 2.348 Slope for plot of ln[CH3CO2CH3] vs time is 0.0350 min1 Therefore k' = 0.0350 min1 k = k' [H+]

k = 0.350 L mol1 min1

Note: The formula spreadsheet used for the lab report maybe submitted in place of an example calculation section. If you choose this option you will be required to submit a spreadsheet with cell addresses so that your calculations can be checked.

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