How can I improve my accuracy and precision in lab measurements?
1 Answer
There are several tricks, depending on what is available at your school.
HOW TO DO BETTER IN LAB
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Read the lab procedure before coming to lab! It helps you be prepared so that you know what not to do.
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Label all your bottles, flasks, etc. with some tape if available. That ensures that you don't mix the wrong substance with something else, and get the wrong observation down.
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If you feel like you messed up a bit, ask your teacher's assistant (TA) to check, and have them give their input on whether you did it right, if you're unsure.
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Leave your glassware far enough away from the edge of your lab station. That helps you to not bump it and spill anything.
HOW TO IMPROVE ACCURACY/PRECISION OF MEASUREMENTS
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You can use a white piece of paper and wrap it around behind a burette, pipette, graduated cylinder, etc. to read the index mark more clearly. If you use a dark reagent, try to find a burette with light markings.
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Try to practice doing more precise motions. Practice squeezing DI water bottles more lightly to dispense drop by drop if needed, tilt glassware slowly to pour, use a glass rod to force liquids to travel along them into other glassware, spin the stopcock on a burette
#360^@# quickly for a half/quarter-drop, etc. -
A static gun allows you to get rid of the static electricity around a scale, which stops it from drifting. Scale measurements can drift when you bring blue nitrile gloves near them, which makes it hard to settle on a number.
