Organic Chemistry Pathway Determination Lab Report

Experiment 2 Full Report / Pathway DeterminationNote: The following are merely tips and guidelines to aid you in writing your report. It is not
intended to provide a comprehensive or absolute check-list or outline.
1) Title: A few words describing the experiment or theme.
2) Abstract: As succinctly as possible describe:
• Purpose
• Method
• Results
In other words, what you were attempting to do, how you were attempting to do it, and what
were the results. Limit the abstract to factual statements and do not include theory or analysis
since these topics are covered in detail else ware. The entire abstract should be about 3 to 6
sentences.
3) Purpose and Theory
• Restate the purpose and if necessary provide more detail than in the abstract. For this
particular experiment it would be very helpful to draw the chemical reactions in order
to help explain the purpose.
• Draw all chemical reactions and label reactants and products with actual chemical
names if known and/or in general terms (Reactant A,B…and Product C, D etc.)
Drawing and labeling the reactions make it easy to refer to and discuss later. Products
can be labeled as pyrazoles and pyrazolones etc.
• Provide a mechanism showing both possible pathways.
• Will a catalyst be used? Explain the purpose of the catalyst. It may be helpful to refer
to your mechanism.
• Where in the mechanism is the path or course of the reaction determined.
• Is there any reason one path should be preferred over the other?
• How will the outcome of the experiment be determined? What specifically should you
see in the data (MS, MP, IR, H-NMR, C-NMR etc.) that will allow you to conclude
which pathway was selected?
4) Procedure / Experimental: In a concise manner and in your own words describe
chronologically the procedure performed. Simply state what you did and do not explain why
things were done.
5) Data and Calculations: This section should include all recorded measurements such as
weights, physical constants (melting points, TLC, etc.) as well as any spectroscopic data such
as IR. Calculations of percent yields should be shown and limiting reagents and balanced
equations should be clearly indicated when relevant.
6) Discussion and Conclusions
• Give a conclusion that relates to the original purpose of the experiment.
• Interpret your data and explain how the data supports your conclusions and results. Be
specific in analyzing the data by assigning the data as described by the professor making
definite correlations between the chemical structure and the data.
• Was the yield high or low? Do you believe the product was pure or not and why? Make
a clear argument for your conclusion based on the data. What is it about the data that
leads you to conclude a certain product was formed versus another? What differences
would you anticipate in the IR, C-NMR, H-NMR, MS, MP etc. if the pyrazole was
formed instead of the pyrazolone or vice versa.
• Discuss any problems that you may have encountered and any differences from the
expected outcome. Was the outcome reasonable and expected?
• In addition, you may comment on the experiment’s effectiveness in terms of achieving
the goal such as answering the question the experiment was intended to answer. Did it
produce the product in good yield and high purity? How do you know it was pure? If
possible suggest alternative methods or procedures or ways in which the experiment
could have been done better or improved etc.
7) References: This section is used to cite any sources you may have used for information.
Include enough detail so that the reader can find and check the source.