Lab Safety Quiz
When reading the label on a reagent container, what are three most important pieces of information?
Name, Hazard Warning(s), Concentration
Consider the following scenario: A student has prepared a series of analytical solutions to be run on an instrument in another room. The student has worn gloves throughout the preparation of the solutions, and has wiped up all drips and spills that occurred during that process. The student removes her gloves before leaving the lab room and carries her solutions in scintillation vials in a large clean beaker to the room where the instrument is located. Once in the new room, the student obtains a new pair of gloves before dispensing the solutions for analysis. Which of the following changes could improve the student's procedure?
The student could have worn a single glove on the hand she used for transporting the solutions to the instrument room, and used her non-gloved hand for opening doors and pushing elevator buttons. The student could have worked with her lab partner so that one of them could carry the materials with gloved hands, while the other opened doors and pressed elevator buttons with non-gloved hands. The student could have chosen a plastic bin, or other less breakable container to carry her solutions to the instrument so that she wasn't carrying glassware with her bare hands.
When should you be sure to use a sealed container and/or secondary containment in the laboratory?
When transporting materials from one lab room to another.
While weighing out a reagent for use in an experiment, a student finds he has leftover reagent. The student should:
lace the excess reagent in the appropriate solid or liquid waste container to prevent contamination of the stock reagent.
When beginning any experimental procedure, you should follow the same basic order of steps:
First, take any personal safety precautions that are warranted. Second, prepare your workspace. Third, inspect your equipment to be sure it is functioning properly. A note about Bunsen and Meker burners: The fuel valve determines how quickly fuel is supplied to the combustion, which determines the flame height. The air intake determines how quickly oxygen is supplied to the combustion (how lean/rich the mixture is), which determines the flame temperature.
Your lab partner accidentally gets a mist of your solution in her eye. You immediately help her to the eye wash to rinse it. After about a minute, she feels better and is ready to get back to work. You should:
Keep her in the eye wash for at least 15 minutes, and then make sure she goes to student health, just to be sure.
Your lab partner accidentally spills some acid on his wrist and watchband. You should:
Let the TA inspect his wrist to see if it is okay. Remove the watch and watchband immediately, and rinse his wrist for at least 15 minutes to be sure all hazardous material has been washed away.
Which of the following explains why the lab safety policy specifically addresses loose clothing, contact lenses, and large, loose, or dangling jewelry?
Loose clothing or jewelry is more likely to present a fire hazard if open flames are used in the lab for any reason, or if a fire begins accidentally. Loose clothing and jewelry is more likely to impede movement, or accidentally knock materials over, causing a spill or other accident. In the event of a spill or spray of reagent, all of these items are likely to hold the chemical close to the skin, making it harder to remove and therefore increasing the risk of injury. Contact with chemicals in the lab might damage these items.
Which of the following precautions is important when using a hot plate? (Check all that apply.)
Never leave the hot plate turned on an unattended. Set up the work space so that flammable materials - notebooks, paper towels, other reagents, etc. - are far away from the hot plate to prevent them coming in contact with the hot surface. Set up your work space so that wires and cables cannot accidentally make contact with the ceramic surface and melt. Set up your work space with the hot plate in a secure location away from the edge of the bench so that you won't accidentally bump it and spill hot or flammable liquids. Remember that the ceramic top of the hot plate, and any glassware heated by the hot plate will look the same when hot as cold, and will not cool down until well after the hot plate has been shut off.
What is your BEST resource for understanding the nature of the chemical hazards of materials you work with in lab?
Safety Data Sheets (SDS) that should be consulted before coming to lab each week.
Which of the following is a behavior that can pose a safety risk in the laboratory environment?
Sitting on lab benches, lab floors, or hallway floors, while waiting for lab to begin or for another student to finish. Leaving your lab drawer open while you set up your apparatus and obtain your reagents. Staying focused on your own experiment and not being distracted by what nearby groups are doing. While this may seem counterintuitive, in the lab it is important to be able to focus on your experiment and still have a clear sense of your surroundings and what other experimenters are doing. If you have a single-minded focus on your own work, you are likely to be the cause of an incident involving another group. Looking away from your work to answer a question from your TA or lab partner. Moving rapidly around the lab to be sure to finish the experiment in time.
In some circumstances, materials that are being heated in the lab could catch fire. If a flammable substance in a beaker should catch fire while you are working but the flames are relatively contained, what is a simple method for extinguishing the flame?
Turn off the heat source immediately, and use a watch glass to cover the beaker and minimize the oxygen around the flame.
In some circumstances, materials that are being heated in the lab could catch fire. If a flammable substance in a beaker should catch fire while you are working but the flames are relatively contained, which method must never be used for extinguishing the flame?
Use water from the sink nearest the bench to douse the flames.
Order the following steps you would take if you find broken glassware in your lab drawer, or if a piece of glassware breaks during the lab.
1. Notify your TA so that he or she can help you. 2. Use a pair of leather gloves found in the lab room to prevent nicks or cuts. 3. Clean up large pieces and dispose of in the designated glass only waste container. 4. Use dustpan and brush found in the lab room to sweep up small shards and chips in the area where the glassware was broken and dispose of these in the designated glass waste.
Steps for correct procedure for lighting and working with a Bunsen Burner:
1. Make sure all loose clothing and hair have been properly restrained and will not contact the flame accidentally. 2. Prepare the work space to be sure no flammable materials are in the vicinity of the open flame. 3. Inspect the tubing to the gas valve to be sure it does not have any cracks or holes that would allow a gas leak. 4. Inspect the Bunsen burner to be sure that the air intake and fuel valves move properly and can be adjusted. 5. With the sparker in hand, turn on the gas and light the flame as soon as possible to minimize unburned gas in the air. 6. Adjust the fuel valve to set the height of the flame and adjust the air intake to adjust the temperature (color) of the flame, according to the instructions in the lab manual. 7. Monitor the flame and all nearby materials closely until the experiment is complete. Never leave an open flame unattended. 8. Shut off the burner and gas valve as soon as experimental work is completed (or anytime you must leave it unattached.)
Why should you inspect glassware for chips, cracks, or chemical residues before using it?
All of these are potentially hazardous outcomes of using compromised glassware.
When dealing with hazardous materials generated in the lab, the two most important guidelines are: (Choose two.)
Organize the experiment to generate the least amount of hazardous material possible. Collect ALL hazardous material for proper disposal.
What is the most important consideration to preserve safety when it is necessary to feed glass tubing, thermometers, or other apparatus through a rubber stopper?
Using the correct hand position so that if something goes wrong you can avoid coming into contact with broken or sharp ends.
For which of the following situations should you be sure to notify your TA and fill out an incident report form?
You accidentally pick up a beaker from the hot plate, not realizing that it was already hot, and the edge of the beaker leaves a small red mark on your thumb. During check-in you discover a broken funnel in your drawer, and the broken end of the stem causes a small nick through your glove. During lab check-out at the end of the semester, your lab partner accidentally drops a beaker, and a small chip of glass causes a scratch on your ankle because you weren't wearing socks. You arrive in lab, but realize that your cold medicine is making you feel groggy. You begin to feel faint and dizzy in lab because you had to skip lunch.
Which of the following must be completed before taking the quiz?
a. Store your backpack, cell phone, jacket, and all other nonessential items in designated storage areas. b. Put on your lab coat. c. Tie back long hair. d. Put on your goggles.
When the procedure calls for making a more dilute solution of an acid, or mixing an acid with other solutions, what is the correct order of steps?
Always Add Acid - Either add all of the water or non-acid component first, or add a significant portion, before adding the acid to the mixture. This helps to minimize the heat generated, which could otherwise create dangerous fumes or reactions.
If you need to work with a flammable or volatile solvent, which piece of lab equipment should you be sure NOT to use?
Bunsen or Meker burner, or anything with an open flame.
How many times should you read the label on a reagent container and compare it with the lab manual?
At least twice each time you remove material from the container.
Which of the following is the reason backpacks must be stored during lab?
Backpacks on the floor of the lab or on the benches may be exposed to hazardous materials, which might then lead to student exposure outside the lab. Backpacks on the floor present a tripping hazard to students in lab, which may lead to spills and other incidents.
When should you be sure to wear full PPE (proper attire, lab coat, goggles) in the laboratory? (Check all that apply.)
During the lab quiz. As soon as you enter the lab, and until you are ready to walk out the door. While waiting in the lab room for a friend to finish. Once the experimental work has begun. While cleaning up after experimental work is done.