Laboratory section attendance is mandatory. You must complete all labs and pass the laboratory portion of the course in order to earn an overall passing grade in Chemistry 60. Lab grades also contribute to your overall course grade. Laboratory learning will also be part of lecture exams and the final exam. A preliminary calendar for the course, which includes a lab session schedule, was handed out during the first lecture session.

Preparation will be key to your success in the laboratory. Expect to spend at least an hour each week preparing for lab. section — in addition to homework for lecture sections. Before entering the lab room, you should thoroughly understand what you need to do in the lab session and why. You should also have completed any prelab. assignments given during the previous lab session. Additional instructions for lab preparation, prelab. assignments, etc. may be given during lecture sections; you are responsible for knowing what happens during lecture and laboratory sessions and preparing accordingly. Preparation clearly also includes bringing your laboratory manual and other necessary materials to the lab. Lack of preparation for laboratory sessions can lead to safety hazards and make completing experiments very difficult.

Be on time for laboratory section! Important notes, changes, and other information will be presented by the instructor at the start of each session. If you miss the start of lab, you are likely to encounter difficulties completing the experiment appropriately and might even be a safety hazard. Some labs take the full three hours. If you do not finish, you will not receive full credit. If you do not complete most of an experiment, you will not receive the credit required to pass the class.

Points will be deducted for failure to comply with safety regulations and proper notebook procedures (usually one point for each item, such as not wearing goggles). Safety rules are clearly outlined in the safety agreement signed on the first day. You may not participate in laboratory experiments without signing the safety agreement. Anyone instructors determine to be causing an unnecessary safety hazard will be removed from the laboratory section to insure everyone's safety.

In this class, lab reports are to be completed IN INK (noneraseable) and are due by the end of each laboratory session. Writing in ink is a standard laboratory practice to verify the integrity of recorded information (and not just an anti-cheating measure). Ball-point pens are preferable. For similar reasons, all mistakes should be crossed out with a single or double line — remaining visible.

Each experiment report should include a conclusion. The conclusion should include the purpose of the experiment, a brief description of how you acheived that purpose and what you observed while doing so, and — most importantly — a specific statement of what you concluded as a direct result of your observations.

Cheating will not be tolerated and will result in a failing score. Cheating includes falsification of data, copying from other students (past or present), and other similar failures to comply with instructions and honest conduct. You will often be eligible to receive nearly full credit for a report even if you make mistakes — if you explain them and their impact on your results. Do this instead of attempting to falsify data. You are encouraged to discuss all coursework and topics with other students, but you must actually complete the work yourself.

You are responsible for providing some of your own materials for the laboratory part of this course and making sure you have them for each lab session. These include safety goggles, noneraseable pen, laboratory manual, matches, a calculator, and a notebook. Credit for Exercise A depends on your bringing these items to the second laboratory session. Laboratory aprons or coats are optional.

When you are ready to leave for the day, have the instructor check your work area for cleanliness. The instructor will accept your report when your area is clean.

If you must miss a lab or are unable to complete a lab assignment, see your instructor as soon as you know this will happen. Make-up labs can be arranged for special, instructor approved circumstances. Two points will be deducted from scores for any reports turned in up to a week late; five points will be deducted from scores for any reports turned in 1-2 weeks late. No point credit will be given for reports turned in more than two weeks late, but you must still turn in completed lab reports for all sessions in order to pass the course.

You are also responsible for lab drawer check-in and check-out as described elsewhere.