The lab rules look like one long list at first. Hold on to the book's six golden rules and all sixteen hang from the same thread. Don't memorise them blindly: match each rule to something that could actually go wrong at the bench.
1. The six golden rules
To create a safe laboratory and keep it safe, six golden rules must be followed. In the book's order they are discipline, carefulness, perseverance, hard work, good judgement and cleanliness. Try to say each name before you turn its card.
name themtry to name all six
Six golden rules
RuleWhat is rule 1?
AnswerDiscipline
RuleWhat is rule 2?
AnswerCarefulness
RuleWhat is rule 3?
AnswerPerseverance
RuleWhat is rule 4?
AnswerHard work
RuleWhat is rule 5?
AnswerGood judgement
RuleWhat is rule 6?
AnswerCleanliness
The first rule starts before you walk in. Read the book and come well prepared, with a clear idea of the experiment you are about to do.
2. The desk, your hands and the burner
Avoid shouting and loud talk in the laboratory, so that nobody's concentration on the experiment is disturbed. Books, notebooks, bags and drink bottles should not be scattered over the desk either.
Keep the working desk very clean. Before leaving the laboratory, wash all used glassware with cleaning material and arrange it on the desk. Wash your hands with soap as soon as an experiment is finished, and again before you leave. And never leave the Bunsen burner burning without need.
Follow the experimental procedure carefully. Don't rush off in a hurry once you have finished, and stay fully attentive while you work, never absent-minded. The balance must be kept clean: its pan and its surroundings must be free of chemicals.
3. Chemicals, glass and classmates
Smelling and tasting chemicals is risky for your health, so never smell or taste one directly. The way to know a chemical is its label: read the bottle label to be sure before use, and put the bottle back in its place afterwards. Chemical waste goes into the dustbin kept in the laboratory.
When diluting a concentrated acid with water, dilute carefully, as the book directs. Hot glass apparatus must not be dipped into cold water, because hot glassware cracks.
Many classmates work together in the laboratory, so besides your own safety you must keep theirs in mind too. Finally, you finish the experiment as the teacher directs and complete the conclusion together with the calculations.
4. Do and do not
Each rule is really the answer to a moment at the bench. Decide for yourself at five moments, and see what follows.
what happenspick one
Five moments in the lab
Sort ten rules into two bins. A wrong drop tells you what to think about.
sort thempick a chip, then a bin
What to do and what not to do?
Pick up a chip, then drop it in a bin. Ask: does the book tell you to do this, or to avoid it?
Right. Next one.
Not yet. Remember: smell and taste are risky, hot glass cracks in cold water, and the desk and balance must be kept clean.
All in the right bin. Everything you should do is preparation, cleanliness or making sure. Everything you should not do is a risk or a mess.
Now four situations. The first is a hot flask.
situation 1recall the book's rule
What do you do now?
What can happen if a hot conical flask is held under cold water?
Not quite. Hot glass does not harden in cold water, it cracks.
Right. Hot glassware cracks in cold water, so it must not be dipped into it.
Not yet. The book says hot glass apparatus cracks in cold water.
The second is an unfamiliar bottle.
situation 2recall the book's rule
What do you do now?
How do you identify the solution in an unfamiliar bottle?
Not yet. Smelling a chemical is risky for your health.
Not yet. Tasting a chemical is risky for your health.
Right. Not smell or taste: you read the label to be sure before use.
The third is the moment the experiment ends.
situation 3recall the book's rule
What do you do now?
The experiment is over; what now?
Right. Used glassware is washed and arranged on the desk, and hands are washed with soap before leaving.
Not yet. Before leaving, all used glassware must be washed and arranged.
Not yet. The Bunsen burner must not be left burning without need.
The fourth is at the balance.
situation 4recall the book's rule
What do you do now?
A chemical is spilled near the balance pan; what should be done?
Not yet. The balance must be kept clean, so the pan and its surroundings must be free of chemicals.
Right. The balance pan and its surroundings must be kept free of chemicals.
Not yet. By the book's rule it is a problem: the balance must be kept clean.
One question turns up in exams whose answer is not in the book's list of rules. The box below is that one.
5. Check yourself
Three questions in the exam's style. Start with the first.
check yourselfpick one answer
Question 1
How many golden rules does the book ask students to follow to keep the laboratory safe?
The book gives six golden rules, not four: discipline, carefulness, perseverance, hard work, good judgement and cleanliness.
Counting five leaves one out; the book's list has six, the last being cleanliness.
Seven is one too many; the book lists six golden rules.
Right. Discipline, carefulness, perseverance, hard work, good judgement and cleanliness make the six golden rules.
In the second, recall the book's rule.
check yourselfpick one answer
Question 2
A student's duties in the laboratory include:
i. Reading the book and understanding the experiment before coming to the lab ii. Scattering books, bags and drink bottles over the desk iii. Washing the hands with soap after the experiment
Statement ii is false: scattering books, bags and bottles is forbidden, so i and ii cannot both hold.
Right. Both i and iii hold: preparing beforehand and washing hands with soap are both the book's rules.
Statement ii is false, so ii with iii fails; scattering things on the desk is forbidden.
Because ii is false, all three cannot be right together.
In the last one, read every option closely.
check yourselfpick one answer
Question 3
Which of the following is NOT one of the golden rules of the laboratory?
Carefulness is one of the six golden rules, so it is not outside the list.
Good judgement is one of the golden rules; the question asks for the one outside the list.
Cleanliness is the last of the six rules, so it is inside the list.
Right. Competition is none of the book's six golden rules, which are discipline, perseverance, hard work and so on.
The whole note on seven cards.
cut from the notetap to turn over
Seven cards
QuestionHow many golden rules keep the laboratory safe, and what are they?
AnswerSix: discipline, carefulness, perseverance, hard work, good judgement and cleanliness
QuestionWhat must be done with used glassware before leaving the lab?
AnswerWash it well with cleaning material and arrange it on the desk
QuestionWhen must the hands be washed with soap?
AnswerAs soon as an experiment is finished and before leaving the lab
QuestionWhy must chemicals never be smelled or tasted directly?
AnswerIt is risky for health
QuestionWhy must hot glass apparatus not be dipped in cold water?
AnswerHot glassware cracks
QuestionWhose safety must be considered besides one's own, and why?
AnswerClassmates', because many classmates work together
QuestionWhat is the rule about eating and drinking in the laboratory?
AnswerEating and drinking are not allowed in the laboratory
Source: Chemistry 1st Paper, Classes 11-12 (NCTB), Chapter 1 “Safe Use of the Laboratory”, section 1.1.1.