What Not To Do In The Chemistry Lab

Inflate And Shrink Wrap A Student

In this demonstration, students will observe two situations. First a student will be lifted off the desk as other students blow air into straws connected to a garbage bag in order to inflate it. Secondly, the class will observe a garbage bag shrink wrapping a student as a vacuum removes air from the bag.

Demonstration | Acids & Bases, Chemical Change, Chemical Change, Mixtures, Observations | Elementary School, High School, Middle School

H1 Chemical Hazards Of Compressed Gases

Compressed gases expose laboratory personnel to both chemical and physical hazards. If the gas is flammable, flash points lower than room temperature, compounded by rapid diffusion throughout the laboratory, present the danger of fire or explosion. Additional hazards arise from the reactivity and toxicity of the gas. Asphyxiation can be caused by high concentrations of even inert gases such as nitrogen. An additional risk of simple asphyxiants is head injury from falls due to rapid loss of oxygen to the brain. Death can also occur if oxygen levels remain too low to sustain life. Finally, the large amount of potential energy resulting from the compression of the gas makes a highly compressed gas cylinder a potential rocket or fragmentation bomb.

Monitoring for leaks and proper labeling are essential for the prudent use of compressed gases. If relatively small amounts are needed, consider on-site chemical gas generation as an alternative to compressed gas. Reduce risks by monitoring compressed gas inventories and disposing of or returning gases for which there is no immediate need. The equipment required for the safe use of compressed gases is discussed in , .

How To Write The Perfect Chemistry Lab Report: A Definitive Guide

Students have to deal with multiple academic tasks, and writing lab reports is one of them. Its main purpose is to explain what you did in your experiment, what you learned and what the results meant.

Performing experiments and reporting them properly is a cornerstone of on your way into learning chemistry.

But how do you write a chemistry lab report properly?

Its now time to find out!

Our ultimate guide sheds light on the main parts of lab report writing. You ought to be aware of every section and understand how to complete them properly. Therefore, we have divided our guide into three major sections that are:

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Handle Chemical Spills Properly

• If you accidentally spill a chemical, try to remain calm and figure out what it is. You should immediately warn everyone that something has been spilled.
• Never touch, smell or in any other way interact with the chemical before you know what you are dealing with.
• If you spill a large amount, make sure you evacuate the lab, and call the emergency personnel.
• If you spill a small amount, and you know what has been spilled, you can go ahead and clean it up. In the case of acids or bases, the spill needs to be neutralized. Do not use water to clean these up. To neutralize an acid spill, use baking soda and to neutralize a base spill, use acetic acid . Pour these on the chemical before you discard the spill in the correct waste container. Remember to remove your gloves once youve been in contact with chemicals, as they may be contaminated.
• If you spill on your clothes, take off that piece of clothing and rinse your skin with water.
• If you spill chemicals on yourself or someone else, make sure to get them to the safety station as fast as possible, and flush the affected area thoroughly.
• In case you forget your goggles and get chemicals in your eyes, hurry to the safety shower and rinse your open eyes for at least 20 minutes. Then, immediately consult a doctor.

Know Your Safety Equipment

• Fire blanket: This is made of non-flammable fibers. Use it for small fires, or for covering yourself in case you are fighting a larger fire. Never wrap a person whose clothes are on fire in a fire blanket, as it can create a chimney effect and cause burns on the persons body and face. Instead they should roll on the floor to try to put out the fire, or step under a safety shower, if there is one in close proximity.
• First aid kit: This contains disinfectants, bandages and other things that can be used to treat minor injuries, such as cuts.
• Fire extinguisher: There are different types of fire extinguishers: CO2 and foam. The foam extinguisher, also called an ABC extinguisher, can be used for most fires. Never use a CO2 fire extinguisher on a person, as it is extremely cold.
• Safety shower: Use this to wash yourself in case you come into contact with dangerous chemicals. If your clothes catch fire, the safety shower should also be used.

Which types of safety equipment can you spot?

Before leaving the lab, youll need to make sure its thoroughly cleaned so its ready and safe to work in again.Make sure to clean all used glassware, return reagents to the storage area, dispose waste in the right containers and clean your workbench.Always wash your hands to make sure you dont carry any traces of chemicals with you. This is particularly important if you plan to eat afterwards imagine if you transferred a toxic chemical to your food!

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Evaluating The Name Reactions In Chemistry

In this activity, students will discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion in chemistry by exploring name reactions in organic chemistry. Students will engage in preliminary reflection, then listen to the podcast, Should organic chemistrys name reactions go the way of the mouth pipet? from C&EN, and then share their perspective on a discussion board.

Activity | Atomic Mass, Atomic Radius, Density, Electronegativity, Elements, Periodic Table | High School, Middle School

Preparation And Evaluation Of Buffers

In this lesson students will use multiple methods to calculate and prepare buffered solutions with a desired pH. Upon preparation of the solutions, the students will explore differing aspects of buffers including buffering capacity and predominant form.

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Leave Experiments At The Lab

It’s important, for your safety and the safety of others, to leave your experiment at the lab. Don’t take it home with you. You could have a spill or lose a specimen or have an accident. This is how science fiction movies start. In real life, you can hurt someone, cause a fire, or lose your lab privileges.

While you should leave lab experiments at the lab, if you want to do science at home, there are many safe science experiments you can try.

Common Sense Is Probably One Of The Most Important Parts Of Laboratory Safety Sadly Even The Smartest People Are Guilty Of Doing Incredibly Stupid Things In The Lab

Lab Manager

Common sense is probably one of the most important parts of laboratory safety. Unfortunately, as a lab professional, you’ve likely seen many things done in the lab that aren’t very smart at all. Here are 10 of the dumbest things writers from Bitesize Bio have seen doneor even done themselvesin the laboratory.

What are the dumbest things you’ve seen done in the lab? Share this article and let us know!

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What Not To Do Lab

During the first week of school, I welcome my students to the What Not To Do Lab. The PDF is available for free at the Laboratory Safety Institute website.;I use the cartoon activity;to review their Safety Contract handout from;the night before. I use the safety contract from FLINN Scientific.;

Laboratory Safety, Safety Data Sheets, Glassware and Equipment

This can be completed easily within a 50 min class period.

A pdf of the What Not To Do Lab;is available for free at the Laboratory Safety Institute website.;

With more than 30 safety violations shown, the cartoon serves as a great ice breaker as I have each student introduce themselves;and then list a safety infraction being shown on the cartoon. This becomes a challenge for the rest of the students because they must listen to that students response and I do not allow violations mentioned by their other classmates to be repeated which I tell them ahead of time. I usually place the image on my iPad and then using the paid app Airsketch;with my Apple TV then I can circle each of the infractions as the students mention them. Other apps could also be used such as Notabilty;or Explain Everything if you are more comfortable with them. You just need a way to draw on the image as its projected.;The other option would be to project the image onto the white board and circle the infractions on the white board. However I like the iPad because it allows me mobility.

How To Be Safe When Using A Chemistry Lab

This article was co-authored by Bess Ruff, MA. Bess Ruff is a Geography PhD student at Florida State University. She received her MA in Environmental Science and Management from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2016. She has conducted survey work for marine spatial planning projects in the Caribbean and provided research support as a graduate fellow for the Sustainable Fisheries Group. This article has been viewed 58,954 times.

When you are in a chemistry lab, whether in school or in a research laboratory, you are surrounded by safety hazards at every turn. Keeping yourself and others safe should always be your number one priority. There are many things you should learn about chemical safety and proper safety protocol to keep you and your colleagues or classmates safe and out of the hospital so you can focus on your work.

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How To Perform A Titration

In this demonstration, the teacher will show how a titration is set-up and performed. Also, the teacher will utilize different indicators to show how they work and why they are necessary. At the end of the demonstration, the teacher will also explain how to calculate the molarity of the unknown substance.

Demonstration | Gas Laws, Kinetic Molecular Theory, Pressure, Volume | High School

Apparel In The Laboratory

• Always wear appropriate eye protection in the laboratory.

• Wear disposable gloves, as provided in the laboratory, when handling hazardous materials. Remove the gloves before exiting the laboratory.

• Wear a full-length, long-sleeved laboratory coat or chemical-resistant apron.

• Wear shoes that adequately cover the whole foot. Low-heeled shoes with non-slip soles are preferable. Do not wear sandals, open-toed shoes, open-backed shoes, or high-heeled shoes.

• Avoid wearing shirts exposing the torso, shorts, or short skirts; long pants that completely cover the legs are preferable.

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Writing A Chemistry Lab Report

The last lap in our race is to write a laboratory report. We have already mentioned the main constituents of the title page. Therefore, we can hit the text of your project. Your abstract appears soon after the title page. An abstract is a quick summary that sums up the whole thing . Nonetheless, you should leave some space and skip it until the entire project is finished. It is recommended to write the abstract last. The main point is that this section provides a brief review of what your lab report is about and what youve managed to achieve.

Safety Rules For Teaching Laboratories

Rev. 2018-01-24

The following rules are designed for your safety in the laboratory. The Laboratory Instructor is required to enforce these rules and has the full backing of the Department of Chemistry Staff and Faculty. The LI is also required to enforce all laboratory experiment-specific safety procedures in carrying out the laboratory work. Violations of these rules will result in expulsion from the laboratory.;

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Don’t Experiment On Yourself

The premise of many a science fiction movie starts with a scientist conducting an experiment on him or herself. However, you won’t gain superpowers or discover the secret to eternal youth. More than likely, whatever you accomplish will be at great personal risk.

Science means using the scientific method. You need data on multiple subjects to draw conclusions, but using yourself as a subject and self experimenting is dangerous, not to mention bad science.

What To Write In Discussion Of Lab Report

Lab report discussion section often begins with statement as to whether findings in results section support expected findings stated in hypothesis. It is very important to make this comparison as turning back to hypothesis is crucial for scientific thinking. Support or non-support statement then leads to the next logical issue, an explanation of why hypothesis was or wasnt supported by received data. Explanation might focus on scientific reasoning that supported original hypothesis and on alterations or errors in experimental procedure and how they could have affected the outcomes. Also, discussion provides opportunities to compare results with research of others.

When you are wondering how to write a discussion for a lab report, it’s best to ask yourself what does this paper type mean. Question What does it mean can greatly help with research proposal writing and in writing your argument. In a sense, explaining the meaning behind experiment should be done in the discussion.

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Modeling The Melting Of Ice

In this lesson, students will create a particulate model of matter that explains energy changes and transfer during a phase change.

Lesson Plan | Acid & Base Theories, Buffers | High School

G Working With Highly Reactive Or Explosive Chemicals

An explosion occurs when a material undergoes a rapid reaction that results in a violent release of energy. Such reactions can happen spontaneously or be initiated and can produce pressures, gases, and fumes that are hazardous. Highly reactive and explosive materials used in the laboratory require appropriate procedures. In this section, techniques for identifying and handling potentially explosive materials are discussed.

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D Working With Substances Of High Toxicity

In general, the guidelines in reflect the minimum standards for handling hazardous substances and should become standard practice when handling highly toxic substances. For example, although working alone in laboratories should be avoided, it is essential that more than one person be present when highly toxic materials are handled. All people working in the area must be familiar with the hazards of the experiments being conducted and with the appropriate emergency response procedures.

Use engineering controls to minimize the possibility of exposure . The use of appropriate PPE to safeguard the hands, forearms, and face from exposure to chemicals is essential in handling highly toxic materials. Cleanliness, order, and general good housekeeping practices create an intrinsically safer workplace. Compliance with safety rules should be maintained scrupulously in areas where highly toxic substances are handled. Source reduction is always a prudent practice, but in the case of highly toxic chemicals it may mean the difference between working with toxicologically dangerous amounts of materials and working with quantities that can be handled safely with routine practice. Emergency response planning and training are very important when working with highly toxic compounds. Additional hazards from these materials can complicate the situation, making operational safety all the more important.