Groupwork

For a couple of the labs this semester, you will be assigned to work in groups by your professor, who will act as the president. The three roles assigned will be the project manager, computer operator, and laboratory technician.

Once you have formed your groups, the president will meet with the project manager to discuss the concept of the experiment and any specific procedures that are necessary to conduct the experiment. The project manager will then meet with his/her group to discuss how the experiment will be conducted. If there are any questions throughout the lab, the project manager will be the individual that communicates directly with the president. The project manager will ultimately take accountability to ensure that the laboratory report is submitted to the president by the specified deadline.

The role of computer operator is to do all of the work associated with the computer during the lab period. This includes connecting any necessary probeware to the interface or computer and making sure that they are properly calibrated. The computer operator will also be the individual that makes all data entries into the computer and will also begin typing the laboratory report into the computer during any downtime.

The role of the laboratory technician is to do the dirty work in the laboratory. This includes gathering and setting up the equipment; picking up, preparing and measuring the chemicals; conducting the experiment and making the observations and measurements; cleaning up when the group is finished.

The project manager may help out the computer operator or laboratory technician as he/she sees fit throughout the activity. Once you have finished the experiment and the technicians have cleaned up, all members of the group are responsible for answering the questions and ensuring that the laboratory report gets completed. The project manager will ultimately take accountability to ensure that the laboratory report is submitted to the president by the deadline. Since many labs may not be able to be finished by the end of the laboratory period, it is recommended that each member of the group has all of the other group member's email addresses or phone numbers. The easiest way to backup any document with which you are working is to email a copy to yourself and the the rest of the group members.