Welcome to the Soils
and Water Laboratory. The purpose of this class is to reinforce and demonstrate
the concepts you are meeting in the lecture. It will become clear to you that
even the most abstract concepts have practical applications. Explicit
directions and notes on the procedures for the labs are provided in this web
site (see below). Please print and read them before you come to the lab. The labs are arranged to
coincide with your lecture material, so stay up-to-date with your reading. Labs
are arranged into units; one report on all the labs in the unit is due the week
following the last lab in the unit, unless otherwise specified.
Safety Issues:
·
There
will be NO food or beverage allowed
in the labs; leave it outside.
·
Make
sure you know exactly the contents of any bottle you take for use. Know
in advance what chemicals you will be using in a lab period and keep all
chemicals separated unless instructed to combine them. Inform the TA immediately if you spill something on
yourself or equipment.
·
LISTEN
CAREFULLY to all instructions given by the TA.
·
Cleanliness
is essential to safety in the lab. When the laboratory exercise is finished, no
one will be allowed to leave until all equipment is back in its starting
position, the tables are wiped off and the balances are cleaned. Wash your
hands immediately after leaving the lab.
A few other tips:
·
Be
on time for lab. If you have conflicting classes and cannot make a bus
connection, try to change sections or talk with your lab TA.
·
Do
not assume that a lab can be made up if you are absent. Talk to your TA as soon as possible after
missing a lab.
·
Frequent
tardiness, unexplained absences, sloppy lab reports and poor lab safety habits
will be reflected in your grades. Getting a good lab score has made the
difference in the final grade this course, even between passing and failing,
for many students.
Laboratory Report
The laboratory
report is intended to serve as a written record of the objectives, procedures,
outcomes and implications of the activities that you perform during the lab
period. Besides documenting what
happened in the lab, potential benefits to you include: improve understanding
of soils through thoughtful consideration of the laboratory experience and its
relationship to lecture material; feedback on your grasp of the material;
earning points; and practice in communication skills. Your professor also gains
continuous feedback as to your understanding of course material.
Lab reports for
units are limited to a maximum of 5
typed pages. Individual lab reports should
be limited to 2-3 typed pages. Due to the easy access to computers on
all campuses, no handwritten reports will
be accepted. A lab report is due one week after the last lab of the unit or the
individual lab (lab 7 and 11). Reports turned in late will not receive full
credit. You are expected to write your laboratory reports in a technical
manner, including a discussion of the theory behind the experiment(s). Also, 1) do not rip out pages from their lab books and hand them in, 2) Do not copy another students’ report and
put your name on it! Do not allow another student to copy your report!, 3) if you use any literature materials to complete your
lab report, list them in the reference section of your report, this includes
your textbook and your lab guide. The use of somebody else’s work without
crediting the source constitutes plagiarism.
Plagiarism is a serious ethical transgression and will not be tolerated.
Plagiarism will result in a grade of zero (0) for an individual lab or an F for
the course, in cases of repeat offenses..
Each
laboratory report will be graded based on: accurate description of concepts,
data/observations made, calculations, answers to questions presented in the lab
guide, class participation, correct format, and promptness.
The correct format of a lab report is
shown here:
Names of lab partners
Introduction: Relevant basic information needed to
understand the reported experiment(s) . Concepts from all
labs in the unit should be included and relationships between concepts
clarified in about 2 or 3 paragraphs.
Objective(s): use 1 paragraph to state in your own
words the purpose of each exercise.
Materials
and Methods: Cite the
lab manual, noting any deviations in procedures, mistakes or substituted
materials. Write a Materials and Methods
section for each lab in the unit.
Results: Data and observations. Tables and
supplementary graphs are appropriate aids to present data. Write a
Results section for each lab in the unit.
Calculations: Show any calculations that are
required, as described in the lab guide.
Discussion: Describe what the experiment
demonstrated using theoretical concepts learned both in lecture and in the
laboratory. Offer possible explanations
for unexpected results.
Conclusions and
Implications: In your
own words, summarize the major points that were presented by the laboratory
activities. Apply knowledge to generalize the results to real world situations.
Page 1 of 5
Click on the lab title to download and
print the instructions.
|
WEEK OF: |
UNIT# |
LAB# |
TOPIC: |
|
Feb.
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
Feb. 8 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
Feb. 15 |
3 |
||
|
Feb. 22 |
4 |
||
|
Feb. 29 |
|
Snow—classes canceled |
|
|
March 7 |
5 |
Problem Solving and Demonstration—Meet in Rm 323 |
|
|
March 14 |
2 |
6 |
Computer-based Aids in Soil Science—Meet in Rm 323 |
|
March 21 |
|
No lab: spring break! |
|
|
March 28 |
7 |
||
|
April 4 |
8 |
||
|
April 11 |
3 |
9 |
|
|
April 18 |
10 |
||
|
April 25 |
11 |
||
|
May 2 |
|
12 |
Visit to the Soil Testing
Laboratory |
|
*subjected to weather
condition, ** bring the three handouts to lab. |
|||