a W.I.D. Workshop CWAC: Center for Writing Across the Curriculum Saint Mary’s College of California, Spring 2015

 One-Inch Margins  1 page MAX  Double-spaced  Size 12 font

 Past Tense  3 rd Person  Passive voice Passive voice allows you to remain in 3 rd person

 “I am melting the ice cream.” vs. “The ice cream melted.”  “I kick the ball.” vs. “The ball was kicked.”

What did you do? How? What did you find? Why important? ◦ Title ◦ Objective ◦ Methodology/Principles of Chemistry Applied / Procedure ◦ Results ◦ Discussion ◦ Conclusion

 Title ◦ Describe the goal ◦ Include the theory being tested  Objective ◦ The first sentence is the objective (goal/purpose) ◦ Try not to start with “The objective of this experiment was…”  What is the end goal?  Why is this experiment done?

Synthesis of a Chemical Compound: Making Alum from Aluminum The objective of this laboratory was to prepare alum (KAl(SO 4 ) 2 ∙12H 2 O) from elemental aluminum using several synthetic techniques important in chemistry. A cleaned piece of aluminum was oxidized using aqueous potassium hydroxide under low heat, forming potassium tetrahydroxyaluminate and hydrogen gas. Upon the addition of sulfuric acid, aluminum(III) ions were formed. Gravity filtration was used to remove solid impurities. The alum was crystallized from the chilled filtrate, a mixture of aluminum(III), potassium, and sulfate ions, and isolated by suction filtration. The crystals were washed with methanol and dried by air suction. The yield was g of alum (74.89%), and approximately 2.39 g (25%) of the theoretical yield was not isolated. The solubility of alum under the crystallization conditions would result in 1.14 g of alum remaining in solution, therefore 1.25 g of material was not isolated. This material could have remained on the glassware and stirring rod or could have been lost during filtration and methanol washes.

What did you do? How? What did you find? Why important? ◦ Title ◦ Objective ◦ Methodology/Principles of Chemistry Applied / Procedure ◦ Results ◦ Discussion ◦ Conclusion

 a BRIEF description of the procedure ◦ Assume the reader has as much (or more) experience in chemistry as you do. ◦ Mention the technique, but not details about how it was performed  Ex.: Say that suction filtration was used – but don’t describe how you assembled the apparatus or carried out the process

Synthesis of a Chemical Compound: Making Alum from Aluminum The objective of this laboratory was to prepare alum (KAl(SO 4 ) 2 ∙12H 2 O) from elemental aluminum using several synthetic techniques important in chemistry. A cleaned piece of aluminum was oxidized using aqueous potassium hydroxide under low heat, forming potassium tetrahydroxyaluminate and hydrogen gas. Upon the addition of sulfuric acid, aluminum(III) ions were formed. Gravity filtration was used to remove solid impurities. The alum was crystallized from the chilled filtrate, a mixture of aluminum(III), potassium, and sulfate ions, and isolated by suction filtration. The crystals were washed with methanol and dried by air suction. The yield was g of alum (74.89%), and approximately 2.39 g (25%) of the theoretical yield was not isolated. The solubility of alum under the crystallization conditions would result in 1.14 g of alum remaining in solution, therefore 1.25 g of material was not isolated. This material could have remained on the glassware and stirring rod or could have been lost during filtration and methanol washes.

What did you do? How? What did you find? Why important? ◦ Title ◦ Objective ◦ Methodology/Principles of Chemistry Applied / Procedure ◦ Results ◦ Discussion ◦ Conclusion

 The main results of each lab, including ◦ The rate law equation ◦ Kinetic constants ◦ Thermodynamic values ◦ Cell voltages  Percent error  Relevant data from charts/graphs  Include any numbers that directly relate to the conclusions that you were trying to draw from your hypothesis.

 First or second person ◦ (I, you, me, we, us, etc.)  Colloquial words for scientific terms ◦ (stuff, things, etc.)

Synthesis of a Chemical Compound: Making Alum from Aluminum The objective of this laboratory was to prepare alum (KAl(SO 4 ) 2 ∙12H 2 O) from elemental aluminum using several synthetic techniques important in chemistry. A cleaned piece of aluminum was oxidized using aqueous potassium hydroxide under low heat, forming potassium tetrahydroxyaluminate and hydrogen gas. Upon the addition of sulfuric acid, aluminum(III) ions were formed. Gravity filtration was used to remove solid impurities. The alum was crystallized from the chilled filtrate, a mixture of aluminum(III), potassium, and sulfate ions, and isolated by suction filtration. The crystals were washed with methanol and dried by air suction. The yield was g of alum (74.89%), and approximately 2.39 g (25%) of the theoretical yield was not isolated. The solubility of alum under the crystallization conditions would result in 1.14 g of alum remaining in solution, therefore 1.25 g of material was not isolated. This material could have remained on the glassware and stirring rod or could have been lost during filtration and methanol washes.

What did you do? How? What did you find? Why important? ◦ Title ◦ Objective ◦ Methodology/Principles of Chemistry Applied / Procedure ◦ Results ◦ Discussion ◦ Conclusion

 This is the “analysis.”  Why the results are important and what can be learned from them.  What principles are explored?  Why are the results significant? ◦ What do they say about the success or failure of the experiment?  Why did the results end up this way? ◦ Avoid writing “Operator/Student error.”

Synthesis of a Chemical Compound: Making Alum from Aluminum The objective of this laboratory was to prepare alum (KAl(SO 4 ) 2 ∙12H 2 O) from elemental aluminum using several synthetic techniques important in chemistry. A cleaned piece of aluminum was oxidized using aqueous potassium hydroxide under low heat, forming potassium tetrahydroxyaluminate and hydrogen gas. Upon the addition of sulfuric acid, aluminum(III) ions were formed. Gravity filtration was used to remove solid impurities. The alum was crystallized from the chilled filtrate, a mixture of aluminum(III), potassium, and sulfate ions, and isolated by suction filtration. The crystals were washed with methanol and dried by air suction. The yield was g of alum (74.89%), and approximately 2.39 g (25%) of the theoretical yield was not isolated. The solubility of alum under the crystallization conditions would result in 1.14 g of alum remaining in solution, therefore 1.25 g of material was not isolated. This material could have remained on the glassware and stirring rod or could have been lost during filtration and methanol washes.

1. Read aloud your abstract 2. Your peer identifies and describes each element in yours 3. Discuss what’s missing 4. Then analyze, discuss revisions Trade roles

 Basic outline: What did you do? How did you do it? What did you find? Why is it important?  Objective of the experiment goes in the first sentence  The “Methodology” section is a BRIEF description of the procedure  Main results of lab ◦ The rate law equation, Kinetic constants, Thermodynamic values, Cell voltages  Percent error  Relevant data from charts/graphs  Why are your results significant?  What do they indicate about the success or failure of the experiment?  Why did the results end up this way?  Use Passive Voice!  Use Past Tense!  Use Third Person!

 Be as direct as possible. Since your abstract can only be one page double-spaced, there is no room for “fluff.”  Be as specific as possible without being redundant  Use the “Sentence Structure” and the “Summary of hints” handouts for specific questions

Farrall, Don. Blue Periodic Table Closeup. N.d. Getty Images. Web. 14 Feb GLOBALHAWK90.3d Bottle flickr. Web. 14 Feb Jackson, Pat. Chemistry Abstract Examples.

This W.I.D. Workshop is a collaborative effort of the CWAC staff, led by Lead Writing Adviser Madeline Bell CWAC: Center for Writing Across the Curriculum Saint Mary’s College of California, Spring 2015