For literature citation at the end of a lab report if only the text is used would that have to be cited as well? Or would it not be cited and on the page for literature citation I would type no sources cited?
You have to cite anything and everything that is used along with the bibliography page at the end of the report
but when I did a bio lab report I didn't cite the textbook..
You need to consider the people who will read your report. Common knowledge must not be cited.
If I read your report then I must be able to deduce everything you did from your report. So, if you use some basic technique that everyone knows about then you only need to mention the fact that you used that technique and you don't need to explain how that technique works. You don't need to give citations to textbooks.
If you have developed a new method then you need to explain that in the report. If this mew method is similar to a well known method that can be found in textbooks, then you could try to focus on how your method differs from the usual method.
In such cases it can be helpful to refer to textbook. You should keep in mind that even experts who use well known methods don't always exactly remember the fundamentals that are explained in the textbooks.
So, if I read your report and you say that you used method X but made certain chages so that it now works in a slightly diferent way, then for me to verify that I would have to go through the derivation of method X and do what you wrote. It would thus be more convenient for me to look up the details of how method X works. If you give the reference to a widely available textbook then I don't even have to spend time searching for it.
i just refered to the text when I went and titrated wine with NaOH to find the % tartaric acid in the wine but what I took from the text was that in wine in general the tartaric acid % is usually less than 1% but I'm not sure if that would be considered common knowledge
In this case, if you obtained the information about the typical percentage of tartaric acid in wine from a specific source, such as a textbook or a research paper, then you should cite that source. While the general statement that tartaric acid is usually present in wine is common knowledge, the specific percentage you mentioned would require a citation to support your claim.
When to cite a source depends on the specific information you are using and the context in which it is presented. If you are unsure whether a particular piece of information is considered common knowledge or not, it is better to err on the side of caution and include a citation. This way, you can properly acknowledge the sources of your information and avoid potential issues of plagiarism.
In this case, the information you took from the text about the tartaric acid percentage in wine could be considered common knowledge. Common knowledge refers to information that is widely known and accepted by the general public or experts in the field. Since the tartaric acid percentage in wine being less than 1% is widely known and accepted, you wouldn't necessarily need to cite it.
However, if you're unsure whether it's considered common knowledge or if you want to be safe, you can always provide a citation for the text you referred to. This helps in two ways - it acknowledges the source you used and provides your readers with a reference in case they want to look up more information on the topic.
So, in this case, you could add a citation for the text you referred to, indicating the author, title, and any other relevant information, on the page for literature citation. This ensures that you provide proper credit and make it easier for others to verify the information if needed.