What
Lab Safety Rules Apply in Mrs. Aker's class?
There
are many specifics in the lab safety contract, but there are also
some general guidelines in place in our classroom to keep you
safe:
1. Students
will stand at lab stations.
Yup,
this one really bothers students. Here is why: imagine
you have a beaker full of acid. You are sitting on a lab
stool, stirring the acid, when the beaker tips over and spills.
What happens to the acid as it spills off the counter? How
easy is it for you to react and move away if the acid spills
onto your lap? Imagine how much worse it would be if you are
sitting ON the lab table?
2. Students
will refrain from needless wandering around.
We
sometimes deal with glassware (breakable things), chemicals,
and hot things. It is easy to walk into the path of someone
carrying these items. There is a sink at your lab station....most
of the things you need are there. If you need to ask me
a question, raise your hand and wait...PLEASE! If your
lab group needs to get chemicals from the front of the room,
designate ONE person to always get supplies for your group.
3. Students
will wear goggles when dealing with fire, hot substances, and most chemicals.
...and
not on top of your head either! We have a great goggle cabinet
that disinfects our goggles. Germs are no excuse, and neither
is fashion. You won't be very fashionable with an eye patch
or permanent facial scarring. Trust me, this will become
habit.
4.
When in doubt: read your lab sheet, ask your lab group,
and if your question still isn't answered, ask me!
I
shouldn't be your first resource, but you shouldn't be afraid
to ask me a question about how to do something if you really don't
understand.
5. Consquences
are more severe during lab.
These
rules are here for your safety. If I see you repeatedly
breaking the rules, I will remove you from the current lab
activity, and maybe for more labs, depending on the particular
case.
Lab
Safety Equipment and Other Lab Supplies in Room A210
1. Safety
Shower
This
is used in the event that you spill a large amount of corrosive
substance or irritating substance on a large portion of your
body or clothing. In addition, if you were to have your clothing
on fire, the safety shower would be what you use. Once you
pull the handle on a safety shower, a large amount of water comes
out. This is NOT a toy, and treating it as such will result
in disciplinary action.
2. Eye
Wash
If
you were to get an irritating or caustic substance in your
eye, you would use the eye wash. View this
video of a student demonstrating proper use of the eye wash.
3. Sink
Hoses (AKA, Why are there hoses on the sinks?)
The
hoses prevent the faucets from splashing. If you don't
believe they splash, try one without the hose.
4. Gas
and Air Nozzles
Yes,
we have gas and air hookup. We will use the gas hookup with
Bunsen burners several times throughout the year. Each nozzle
has three places it can be shut off: the handle that you
see on the lab bench, under each sink, and a main shut-off valve
by the door. 99% of the time, the gas is turned off at the
main valve. Therefore, turning the handle does nothing.
I will light your bunsen burner for you the majority of the time.
However, what you need to know is how to turn the gas on and off
at your lab station. See this great
site about lighting bunsen burners.
