CHEM 475 Progress Report

Last Update: August 18, 2006

Assessment of the laboratory portion of CHEM 475 will be by two progress reports.  The first will be due after mid-term and one tentatively due on Reading Day.  A progress report is similar to the formal laboratory reports that you prepared in p-chem, but they focus more on what was accomplished in the laboratory during a certain time period rather than on communicating the results of a complete study.  Progress reports are often used in industry as a way for bench chemists to communicate their work to their superiors (and thereby justify their continued employment), and as such we feel it is important that you have some experience with this form of scientific communication.

Each laboratory group will prepare a single progress report on all work performed in lab to this point in the semester (this means you will have one report with multiple sections). You are to use the format given on the Writing Laboratory Reports web page, with the following changes.

1) You are to omit the abstract.

 

2) The Introduction section does not need to be very long, but it should inform the reader as to what compound you sought to make and for what purpose they were made (other than it was required).

 

3) In the Results section only include spectra, cyclic voltammagrams, etc. if you will discuss their interpretation.  Otherwise, simply tabulate the results (l_max and e for electronic spectra, E⁰ and DE for voltammagrams).  Note that NMR and IR results (and mass spectroscopy data) are usually reported in the Experimental section if they are used only for characterization.  If you have crystallographic results, please consult with Dr. Baughman on how this is to be reported.

 

4) You can use the outlines for Synthesis and Measurement exercises given on the Laboratory Notebook web page as a starting point for your Discussion section.  Note that if you made a measurement, you will need to include a propagation of error analysis and report the final result in the proper statistical format.

 

5) Any raw data (e. g. NMR spectra, etc.) that you want to include (and you should include!) is to be place in the Supporting Information.  Again, if you have X-ray crystallography data you will need to consult with Dr. Baughman about what needs to be included in the Supporting Information).

Your work will be assessed in the areas of writing style and quality, the amount of work completed and the quality of work performed.  Extra consideration will be granted to people working on particularly difficult exercises.

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