Laboratory safety is the most important concept a scientist can understand. Laboratories have Standard Operating Procedures; you will be helping to develop an SOP for our laboratory.

Safety is paramount in laboratory work. There are many laws governing laboratory operations. These laws are geared toward the safety of researchers and the environment.

As you work in lab this year, you will need information about the substances you are working with. Where will you get this data? How will you get access to it when you are working? Will you be able to add information throughout the year? Will this be a usable resource for you when you are in college? What can you learn about the properties and hazards of the substances in the world around you?

Chemists must know the chemical and physical properties of the chemicals they work with. Knowing these properties is very helpful, for example, when a chemist plans an experimental procedure and needs to know what compound might be soluble in water, or what compound will not melt in a candle flame.

Sometimes these properties can be found in a reference text, and sometimes they can be calculated, measured, or easily determined experimentally. There are many electronic resources available through the Internet as well as many texts and reference books in the library in which this information can be found.

The point of research is attaining new knowledge. This knowledge is most valuable if it is shared appropriately with peer researchers. You will investigate and analyze the conmponent parts of such a written presentation.