Figures

Organic chemistry is a visual science. One scheme can summarize a great deal of information. Software is available to help chemists make their own schemes. ChemDraw is widely used among scientific professionals and is available through many academic institutions for free.

Just like tables, images should have names. If your image comes from a website, you need to cite it within the image caption. Images should not be excessively big, in ChemDraw once you highlight your molecule, you can go to object on the toolbar and choose Apply object Settings from ACS Document 1996. This seems to be a good choice for most purposes. If you have time, take a look at all the features offered by this program. Once you draw a molecule you can get its MW at the click of a button, you can also get the common name for the molecule, as well as spectra data predictions.

What types of images need to be in a lab report? If you are doing a reaction, that reaction needs to be included in the report. If we are isolating a molecule, you should include that molecule. If you have obtained data in the form of an image (for example: an IR spectra), that should also be included. In general, if a figure can be more informative, or serve as a graphical summary include it.

Example

Figure 10.3 Synthesis of Salicylic Acid

Figure 10.2 Menthyl Salicylate¹

(1) “Salicylic Acid,” The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6^th ed. New York, Columbia University Press, 2001.