The Glade 4.0

So I'm trying to get my Fall schedule figured out and am having a tough time. Having to take a 1 credit class that lasts 3 hours at pretty much one time of day removes a lot of possibilities for me since I work full-time. I noticed a lot of the labs are one credit and listed separately. Is it possible to take the lab during a different session, like over winter/summer break, after the lecture has been knocked out or do they want them taken together?

The site doesn't at all make this clear and nobody will call/e-mail me back (go figure).

Also, was kinda curious if somebody by chance had some lab reports I could look over to get an idea of what a "good" one looks like. My physics teacher sucked and I don't fully trust his opinion on what is acceptable, let alone A-material.

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The Dude abides.

I think it probably varies by school, but my alma mater wouldn't allow a lab to be taken independent of the primary course. You either took both at the same time, or not at all.

As Farsky said, it depends on the school, but also the class. My physical chemistry class had a separate lab course that was meant to be taken the semester after the lecture. For the most part, though, they need to be taken concurrently because the lab usually touches on the topics of the lecture.

A proper lab report should have a title, abstract (about 100 words to describe what you're doing and your results), introduction (an overview of what you're doing, citing other related research), materials and methods (what you used in the experimentation and the methods you did so repeatability can be determined), results (just giving your raw results and an explanation of how you achieved them), discussion (explaining what your results mean and the conclusions you can draw from that), and the literature cited in your document.

Good luck Screeling. 1 credit labs are a pain in the neck, but it's an important part of a science class.

I would assume that you can't take the lab separately, unless you find out otherwise.

Depends on the type of class, physics for e.g. requires you apply your lecture learnt calculations to be applied to labs to sort of reinforce what they've tried to teach you. Microbiology e.g. would be less stringent as it's mostly forced memorization. It also depends on the lecturer and how much cookies they accept...

As for good papers. A good place to start would be pubmed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ a place with lots of published papers. Also science journals are usually available in most libraries you could go peekabo in.

I'd post my paper here, but then 1) too much personal information, and 2) khross would giggle at my work >.<

All of our labs were listed separately, and could be taken whenever. The course would be listed as either a co-requisite or a pre-requisite, so you could take it either the semester you were in the lecture, or any semester thereafter. It was recommended that you take it concurrently, if possible, but not required.

Ask and check.

The opposite of what Lydiaa found, at my school the biology labs were often tied into the courses, whereas you were not ever allowed to take physics labs at the same time as the lecture- and many people would wait multiple semesters before taking them.

I would not recommend looking too hard at published papers to get an idea for lab reports. Ask the instructor for old reports, or ask around at the school to get reports from people who have taken the lab previously.

Quite a few instructors have their own 'form' of lab report that they want, and it's more important to stick to that then to write a proper one.

I'd be glad to send you some of my physics lab reports from undergrad as examples if you want to PM me your e-mail address.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

Depends on your school and the lab that's being taken.

For the introductory physics, biology, and chemistry courses here, the labs most be taken at the same time as the lectures.

For the upper division organic chemistry, physical chemistry, inorganic chemistry and biochemistry labs, you can take them either at the same time as the lectures, or whenever you feel like. They are more credit hours though. (3 each, as opposed to the 1-2 credits associated with the lower labs).

I'm in a microbiology lab right now, it's a 2 credit class offered in addition to the regular 3 credit lecture. But, I could have opted to take it later.

Ask your lab TA or prof for what they want in the lab write up/report. I've had some who want full journal style reports, some just have a checklist of information they want. If you're writing chemistry lab reports, I highly recommend picking up a copy of the ACS Style Guide. It's a fantastic resource.

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"I've got twenty ways to tell you shut the f*ck up / nineteen of them are twenty-four bars long / the other one goes: SHUT THE F*CK UP" - Aesop Rock
"There is no God higher than truth." -- Gandhi
Formerly: Tulamian

Thanks for the inf0z, y'all. PM sent, Nephyr!

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The Dude abides.

Where I took my physics classes, the lab and lecture were both the same class. At the school I transferred to, they are separate classes with separate grades. You can pass or fail them both separately and if you fail the lab you can retake it without having to retake the lecture. For my EE classes, I have labs that are separate from their lectures and the lecture serves as a prereq for the lab.

I actually have a lab class that not only has its lecture as a prereq, but also two more prereqs that the lecture doesn't have. (One of those prereqs also requires an advanced math class that the lecture doesn't require).

In a nutshell, this is going to depend not only on the school, but the department in question, and even the level of the class you're taking. For general chemistry, you may have to take them both at the same time. For the junior and senior level chemistry courses, you might have some flexibility, although as a general rule I would expect that if you aren't taking them at the same time, you have to take the lecture first.

As for the labs, I had a physics teacher who insisted on typed out reports outlining all of the basic theory, detailing the experiment, and an elaborate conclusion. I had another physics teacher who felt that a report should fit on a single page, and that the other professor's method encouraged students to make up bullshit rather than learn physics. Also, different classes use labs for different purposes. An early science class might use a lab to make you follow the scientific method and prove the laws you learned in class. A higher level science class might use a lab to show you how you use science to build something.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

Back in my day, labs were an integral part of the class. Having them separate is all news to me. Picture me befuddled and bemused.

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Memento Vivere

I have local knowledge.
That sandbar was not there yesterday!