CHEMICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

1.1 REPORTING OF PRACTICAL WORK

1.2 Raw data

Students must submit their raw data to the instructor, graph or drawing at the end of each
experiment. Raw data should be a table contains all the measurements performed according to
instruction, written on A4 paper. Particular such as:

• Name of experiment

• Name of present students in the group

• Date experiment performed

• A short comment is expected on whether the results substantiated the theory and factors
which contribute to discrepancies. A full report must be submitted within two weeks
after the completion of the experiment.

1.3 Full report

The general order of the various sections of full report is set as below:

• Front cover

• Table of content

• Abstract/summary

• Introduction

• Aims/objectives

• Theory

• Procedures

• Apparatus

• Result
 • Sample of calculations

• Sample of calculations of errors

• Discussions

• Conclusions

• Recommendations

• References

• Appendices

1.4 Summary

The summary is important because it provides information to persons not wanting to read the
whole report. The summary should also contain the general conclusions of any experimental work
under the test conditions and recommendations (if any). It should not discuss the reasoning or
detailed evidence that is contained in the body of the report. Most important, the summary must
be brief.

1.5 Equipment description and experimental technique

Enough should be said of the equipment and technique so that the reader could operate the
equipment if necessary.

1.6 Calculated results

A summary of the calculated results should be clearly tabulated. Related variables should be
represented graphically where dependence needs to be shown.

1.7 Sample of calculation

A sample of calculation from a set of raw data obtained must be presented in the report using all
formulae used in obtain the final calculated result
1.8 Calculation of errors

It is important to show the calculation of errors as the reader will know how efficient the
experiment has been carried out. The experimental error calculation can be carried out by
comparing it with the expected theoretical values.

1.9 Discussions

In this section, the results or the experiments are presented as a fulfillment of the aim. It is
coordinated analysis of what the data and calculated results mean. From the analysis, should come
the overall impression of the meaning of the experiment and its significance in the light of
published work or established theory.

The material should be presented logically. Even the most complicated explanation or theory can
be conveyed easily to the reader if broken down and presented in logical sequence. If the discussion
is long, its organization should be facilitated by the used of subdivisions and headings.

“Summary” will be more detailed that it will include the opinion reasoning of the author about
various aspects of the experiment. The limitation of the experiment must be discussed and the
accuracy of the result noted.

This section must show the significance of the experimental findings has been appreciated.
Recommended journals, textbooks or lecture note will provide an aid to such an understanding.

1.10 Conclusions

The analysis must be objective, keeping in mind experimental problems or deviations from
conditions reported in published work and making a conclusion, if possible, in the light of this.

1.11 Recommendations

The recommendations could indicate how experimental technique or apparatus should be

improved, considering what conclusions were arrived at and what consistency with expected
performance the experimental results showed. It is also wise to include the observations that cause
errors occurred during the experiment.
1.12 Reference

Reference provides the reader with the sources of information that were used during the writing of
the experimental report. Thus reported data or formulae checked for validity etc.

Book and journal references must follow a standard format that includes the author, titles journal,
volume, ages date and publisher.

1.13 Appendices

Appendices contain material that is not an integral part of the report or cannot be included
conveniently in the body of the report.

These should include material such as supporting information, mathematical derivations, answer
to question included on the typed experimental sheet or similar material that would overload the
body of the report without contributing significantly to the immediate line of thought.