Velocity Team Lab Safety Rules

1.       Safety goggles must be worn while conducting most laboratory experiments.  Keep goggles on until all chemicals have been put away and EVERYONE has finished the experiment.

2.     If an accident occurs, no matter how small, notify your teacher.

3.     Assume that all chemicals are toxic.  Do not get them on your skin or clothes, avoid breathing vapors and never taste them.

4.     Protect clothes with an apron, when necessary.

5.     If you have long hair, keep it tied back out of the way.

6.     Notify the teacher if any glassware is broken.  Do not pick up broken glass with your hands.

7.     If a chemical is spilled, ask your teacher how to clean it up.

8.     If you spill any chemical on yourself, wash the area immediately with lots of cold water, and notify your teacher for further instructions.  Know how to operate the eyewash.

9.     In case of fire, leave the room immediately, following the procedures you have been taught through fire drills.

10.  Never make changes in a procedure or in the use of a chemical, without the permission of your teacher.  Only do those lab activities assigned by a teacher.

11.   When you obtain a chemical for an experiment, read the label carefully, making certain that you have the correct chemical and concentration (strength).

12.  If you are unsure what material to use or how to do a particular procedure, read the instructions again, then ask your teacher before you proceed.

13.  No food or drinks are allowed in the room during an experiment.

14.  Be neat at all times.  Avoid a cluttered work area.

15.  When pouring chemicals from a bottle, grasp the bottle on the side covered by the label and pour out the side opposite the label.  This ensures that the chemical does not drip on the label.

16.  Don’t contaminate reagents by pouring chemicals back into the bottles.

17.  To detect odors wave the vapors toward your nose with your hand.  Never put your nose over the open end of a container.

18.  Before lighting a burner or candle make sure that no one in the area is using flammable materials.

19.  When heating a substance in a test tube or flask, be sure the open end is not pointing at you or anyone else.

20.Be careful handling hot test tubes, ring stands, and other hot equipment.

21.  Do not heat anything in a closed container.

22.Dispose of waste materials as instructed by your teacher.

23.Clean and wipe all work areas at the end of class & wash your hands.

24. Handle lab equipment with care to avoid breaking expensive equipment.

25.Do not try to repeat any experiment or demonstration at home, unless directed to do so.