My First Lab

Pictured to the left is my grade for my fist lab in CHEM 142 at the University of Washington. I feel that my performance exceeded my expectations. The only mistake other than technical difficulties linking the pages correctly was incorrectly classifying an unknown substance.

I was somewhat disappointed by how labs are run during this time. Because I had taken chemistry for two years previously, I had performed this exact lab before in person. Because of this, I felt like I had a leg up when completing the lab report. The main reason for my disappointment is because if I had not completed this lab during high school, before attending the University of Washington, I do not know that I would have had a firm grasp on what exactly was supposed to be happening within the lab. Just being given the data, as well as somewhat related videos to watch, perhaps would not have been sufficient for my understanding.

I completely understand that this is the situation that we are in and that this is the experience that I signed up for when I decided to take CHEM 142.

Upon reflection, I have learned that I am a very visual person by doing online labs. It is difficult for me to grasp the premise and purpose of a lab by simply reading the procedure. After completing a few other labs this quarter, I feel that I need to be more proactive regarding asking for additional information and resources. For future labs, I plan to ask for more visual resources that I can view before the lab session to fully grasp the purpose of the lab.