Lab Policies and Information
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CH 105/106 LAB POLICIES AND INFORMATION Contents Introduction to Chemistry 105/106 Laboratory 2 About Cooperative Learning 3 Safety Rules 4 Laboratory Etiquette 6 NFPA Hazard Codes, Waste Disposal and MSDS 7 Getting Started 8 Portfolio Assignment 9 Laboratory Equipment 10 1 INTRODUCTION TO CHEMISTRY 105/106 LABORATORIES The Chemistry 105/106 Course Sequence has as a required component the laboratory portion of the course. The laboratories are designed to enhance your experience of chemistry, by providing “hands-on” experience in a variety of activities that are used by real scientists. The laboratory portion of the course may explore ideas that are the same/similar to those discussed in the classroom, and will often go beyond the classroom topics. This is designed to broaden your experience of chemistry. Chemists do not limit themselves to what is found in one textbook or classroom, so you are provided opportunities to explore a variety of topics in your own experimental work. You will find several types of experimental approaches in this laboratory course. Some will have a traditional format, where instructions or procedures are provided for you. Some will have an open-ended, cooperative learning format that is probably different than most science laboratories you may have experienced. Cooperative Learning Laboratories are discussed on page 3. As an accompaniment to your laboratory work, you will also be assembling a portfolio, maintaining a laboratory notebook, and preparing oral reports. You may be working individually, in pairs, or in groups for different experiments or different sections of an experiment. This variety of activities is designed to provide opportunities to practice the different skills you will need to learn about the different subjects with which you will be confronted during your college career, and your life. A syllabus will be given to you during the first lab period at which time your lab instructor will explain the details and answer any questions you may have. 2 COOPERATIVE CHEMISTRY LABORATORIES: Welcome to the Cooperative Chemistry Laboratories! Your experience in these laboratories will probably be different from the types of science labs you have previously seen. Instead of a set of specific instructions, you will find an open-ended research problem. The broader questions and problems posed in these research problems will require several weeks of strategy planning, laboratory work, and some information research on different topics. Thus, instead of performing a series of 11 or 12 experiments that are each completed in an afternoon, you might spend several weeks on one experiment, and complete two, three or four each semester. Another aspect of Cooperative Chemistry Laboratories involves becoming a member of a group or team. You will join three or four other students in small group to work on the assigned, open-ended projects. You and your group members will bring different knowledge and experiences to the group, which will enhance your ability to tackle more complex problems. Real scientists have complex, open-ended research projects, not a simple recipe. The Cooperative Chemistry Laboratories are thus designed to provide you with a laboratory experience that is realistic, more like the “real world”. You will find the resources and guidance to devise your own strategic plan for each experiment. You will find information and assistance for performing experiments, and gathering and interpreting your results. You will NOT be given a simple “right” answer. There may not be a simple “right” answer. This means that you will be graded on how you plan your experiments, evaluate your results, and present your report. The lab is not designed to coordinate with the lecture course on specific topics. However, the topics discussed in the laboratory will reinforce the lecture topics to some extent. There will also be new topics that may later be applicable to the lecture portion of the course. One important skill that we will be concerned with teaching you is, how to think your way through problems. This is a skill that can be used in any field of study, and is valuable throughout life. 3 SAFETY RULES 1. Wear your goggles. Wear approved eye protection at all times while in the laboratory and in any area where chemicals are stored or handled. Eye protection should protect against impact and chemical splashes. Goggles, which conform to the ANSI Z-87.1, 1989 standard, are required. Prescription glasses and sunglasses are not acceptable forms of eye protection. If you purchase goggles make sure that they have the ANSI Z-87.1, 1989 imprint on them and that they are designated as chemical splash goggles. Under no circumstances should you wear contact lenses in the laboratory, even under goggles. Chemical vapors may dissolve in the liquids covering the eye and concentrate behind the lenses. "Soft" contact lenses are especially dangerous as chemicals can dissolve in the lenses themselves and be released over a period of several hours. The laboratory has an eyewash station for your use. In the event that a chemical splashes near your eyes, use the station before the material runs behind your safety glasses and into your eyes. You should irrigate your eyes for at least five minutes and notify your laboratory instructor. 2. Don't ingest anything. Eating, drinking and smoking are prohibited in the laboratory at all times. 3. Dress like a chemist. Wear clothing in the laboratory that will provide maximum body coverage. Shorts, mini-skirts, etc. are completely inappropriate. Your clothing should come down to your ankles. Wearing open-toed shoes and sandals is also not allowed in lab. It is advisable to wear old clothes in the laboratory in case of spills. You might also want to keep a pair of sweat pants in your drawer. Long hair should be securely tied back to avoid the risk of setting it on fire or getting contaminated with chemicals. If large amounts of chemicals are spilled on your body, remove the contaminated clothing and use the safety shower located in your laboratory. Stand under the shower for at least five minutes, and make sure that your laboratory instructor is aware of the problem. 4. Don't touch any chemicals. Never taste or touch any chemical. Many chemicals are absorbed through the skin. Wash off all chemicals with large quantities of running water. If directed to smell a vapor, gently waft the vapors towards your nose. Do not smell the source of the vapor directly. 4 5. Use the hood. Perform any reactions involving toxic, irritating or otherwise dangerous chemicals or unpleasant odors in the hood. Each student should have access to a hood. 6. Know what to do if there is an accident. In case of fire or an accident, call the instructor at once. Note the location of the fire extinguishers, safety showers and safety blankets as soon as you enter the laboratory so that you may use them if needed. a) Wet towels can be used to smother small fires. b) If a person's clothing catches fire, pull out the fire blanket, and roll the person up in it to smother the fire. c) In case of a chemical spill on your body or clothes, stand under the safety shower, and flood the affect area with water. Remove contaminated clothing to prevent further reaction with the skin. NOTIFY YOUR INSTRUCTOR IN CASE OF ANY ACCIDENT, NO MATTER HOW SLIGHT. 7. Work safely. Do not point a test tube at anyone while you are heating it; it may erupt. 8. Beware of glass. It is breakable. When inserting glass tubing or thermometers into stoppers, lubricate both the tubing and the hole in the stopper with water. Wrap the tubing in a towel, grasp it as close to the end being inserted as possible, and push gently, using a twisting motion. 9. Assume you are the only safe worker in the lab. Work defensively. Do not assume that every one else is as safe a worker as you are. Wear your goggles even when you are not working. Be alert for others' mistakes. 10. Do not wear headphones in the lab. Anything that interferes with your ability to hear what is going on in lab is a potential hazard. 11. If you are or become pregnant, notify your TA at the next lab so safety issues may be addressed. 5 Basic Laboratory Etiquette Many other students use the equipment you use in this laboratory. Please leave the equipment and all workspaces, as you would wish to find them. 1. If you find a piece of equipment that is not in good working order, notify your TA immediately so that a work order for its repair can be filled out. 2. After you have finished work in the lab, clean off your work area so that it is in good shape for the next person in lab. Each group needs to bring a roll of paper towels and some liquid soap to keep in a lab drawer for cleaning purposes. 3. When obtaining reagents, do not take the reagent dispenser to your desk. 4. If you take more reagent than you need, do not put the excess back into the bottle. It may be contaminated at this stage. Treat the extra as waste and dispose of it accordingly. 5. You will be given instructions on how to dispose of waste chemicals on the basis of their toxicity. Do not put anything down the sink unless you are explicitly told to dispose of it this way. Most waste will be placed in labeled containers. 6. When weighing any material on the balances, do not weigh directly onto the balance pan. Weigh your material on a piece of weighing paper, or into a beaker or other container.