IB Guide to Writing Laboratory Reports

Explanations, Clarifications, and Handy Hints

The nature of science is to investigate the world around you. An inquiring mind is essential to science.
Experiments are designed by curious minds to gain insight into wonder-producing phenomena. Hopefully,
this process of designing experiments, doing experiments, thinking about experimental results, and writing
lab reports will tremendously benefit YOU!

IB Chemistry is the challenge you have chosen. Congratulations! IB learners strive to be:

Inquirers
Knowledgeable
Thinkers
Communicators
Principled
Open-minded
Caring
Risk-takers
Balanced
Reflective * the IB learner profile

This process will challenge your thinking skills more than you can imagine. We need to emphasize again and
again; all of this work is about YOU growing as a student. In addition, we invest valuable time into lab
experiences because we all LIKE doing lab experiments! Hands-on learning opportunities are engaging and
rewarding. Laboratory experiments are about thinking and doing and thinking some more.

"I hear and I forget.

I see and I remember.
I do and I understand."
-- Confucius * see page 32 for more Confucius quotes

The International Baccalaureate program values the laboratory as an integral part of learning chemistry. Your
lab portfolio will comprise 24% of your official IB grade. Your teachers also value the lab and designate
30% of each marking period grade to be based on your lab experiences. So, lab is BIG.

IB has designated particular criteria to be included in a formal lab report, and each criterion has distinct
aspects that will be evaluated. Not all lab reports in IB Chemistry will be formal lab reports, and not all
formal lab reports will be assessing all of the designated criteria. We will pace the expectations of the
course to keep your workload manageable. We do appreciate your time.

This Guide will help you understand the IB requirements and maximize your learning.

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