Laboratory Safety and Equipment

Before Lab Work, Get to Know: Hazards of materials & agents and their prescribed safety procedures Designated escape route and alternate Location of safety equipment

How to Dress for Lab Pants (no ankles showing) Closed toed shoes Hair tied up and away from face Short sleeves No synthetic clothing No clothing with holes No jewelry! Nothing in ears, necklaces or on the wrists/fingers

Internal Emergency Procedures For emergencies requiring internal assistance, get your teachers attention fast by saying: Teacher code red Report all Accidents (breakage), Injuries, Fires, Spills, and Close calls Immediately to your teacher!

Extinguishing a Fire Send someone to pull the fire alarm! Then P.A.S.S. Pull the pin Aim the nozzle Squeeze the handle Sweep at the base of the fire

Eye Protection Wear goggles to protect your eyes from splashes and fumes. They fit over prescription eye wear. They must cover your eyes, not your neck or hair! Always wash your hands before leaving the lab.

Chemical Safety Never pour chemicals back into their original containers. They may be contaminated and could cause a reaction or contaminate your original substance. Always alert your teacher of a spill!

Electrical Safety Never handle electrical equipment with wet hands. Work areas, including floors and tables, should be dry. Never overload an electrical circuit. Make sure all electrical equipment is properly grounded. Keep electrical cords away from areas where someone may trip on them, or where the cords can tip over laboratory equipment.

Tie back long hair and secure loose clothing when working around flames.  

Never point a chemical towards anyone. Correct! WRONG!

Raising your hand . . . When you see me raise my hand I have something IMPORTANT to say! You should: Stop talking Raise your hand Look at the teacher Make sure everyone near you is doing the same

Eating in the lab . . . Don’t do it - Never taste anything during a laboratory activity. If an investigation involves tasting, it will be done in the cafeteria or in the room.  

Dress Appropriately . . . If instructed to do so, wear your laboratory apron or smock to protect your clothing. Wear closed toed shoes in the lab.

Cleaning Up . . . Clean your lab station when your done. Put away all supplies as instructed. Throw away all garbage. Do Not put garbage in sinks! Follow directions for disposal of waste

Can you name the piece of equipment Lab Equipment What do you remember . . . Can you name the piece of equipment and its function?

Erlenmeyer Flask It is used to contain reaction solutions.

Beaker Beakers are the most versatile glassware in the lab and can be used for just about anything. The volume graduations on beakers should be used only for "ballpark" estimates.

Glass Stirring Rod A glass rod is used to manually stir solutions. It can also be used to transfer a single drop of a solution.

Beaker Tongs These tongs are used for picking up beakers that may be too hot or too cold to touch.

Graduated cylinder Used to make accurate measurements of liquid volumes. The bumper ring on larger cylinders is to prevent breakage if tipped over. Keep it near the top.

Test Tube Test tubes hold small volume of liquid. We will put these on test tube racks

Thermometer A thermometer is used to measure temperatures.

Medicine Dropper A medicine dropper is used to transfer a small volume of liquid (less than one mL).

Weighing Boat Used to weigh solids that will be transferred to another vessel.

Microscope Used to magnify specimens. You will use a compound light microscope that magnifies up to 1000x.

Inoculating Loop Used to transfer culture to a slide or Petri dish. Sterilize in between uses.

Cover slip Microscope Slide Covers specimen on the slide. Holds specimens for view under the microscope Cover slip Covers specimen on the slide.

Petri Dishes Can be used to temporarily hold specimens. Its primary use is to culture bacteria (microorganisms) in agar.

Dissecting Kit Used for dissections Contents: Scissors, probes, dropper, forceps, bone crushers, scalpel, and ruler Contents may vary due to availability

Reading the Volume Determine the volume of solution by reading the bottom of the meniscus at eye level. Record the volume using all certain digits and one uncertain digit. Certain digits are obtained from calibration marks. Uncertain digits (the last digit in the number) are estimated between calibration marks. Some examples are shown below:                                               4.88 mL reading 4.49 mL reading

Measure volume with a graduated cylinder Examine the meniscus above and determine the volume of the liquid contained in the graduated cylinder. Answer

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