Part I: Standard Operating Procedures for the High School Laboratory

First, construct a T-chart in MS Word. It works well to make a 2-column table. Investigate the policies of a few institutions, and record the main ideas in your T-chart. The first column will list the behavior, procedure, clothing, action, etc. The second colum will list the rationale ( the WHY or WHY NOT.)

1. Laboratory Attire
   List inappropriate and apprioriate clothing (including shoes) to be worn (or not) in the lab, with a rationale (reason) for each. The first column will begin with a list items of clothing that are appropriate to wear in lab, carefully labeled as such. Immediately following will be a list of items of clothing that should not be worn in the lab, clearly labeled as such.
   
   
2. Behavior
   List actions that are inappropriate, followed by appropriate behaviors.
   
   
3. Handling chemicals
   List inappropriate methods of removing a chemical from a reagent bottle, handling it while weighing it, and disposal. Next, list apprioriate methods.
   
   
4. Handling glassware (include cleaning)
   Address the disposal of broken glassware.
   
   
5. Accidents: how to prevent them and what to do in case of an accident.
   Using safety equipment - what do we have, and where is it located?
   

When your T-chart is complete, put your group members' names on it and make 4 more copies to share with other groups. Be prepared to defend each of your ideas about lab safety, back it up. and document it with a trip to the computer, if necessary. Sharing means sharing; the point of this part of the activity is to make certain every group has shared as complete a safety plan as possible. You may borrow someone elses' idea, but you must go to the computer and verify it yourself.

After discussing your work collectively as a class, you will write, independently, a SOP for laboratory work in the high school.

Part 2A: Using the Information on a Materials Safety Data Sheet

1. Locate a few different MSDS online. You might want to try the same chemical in a few different databases.
2. Questions to think about while looking at the MSDS:
   • What looks familiar?
   • What does NOT look familiar?
   • What appears to be important and why?
3. Open another MSWord document and make a list or table of the information that you can get.
4. To help you decide what might be important, do a web search for "laboratory notebook."
5. Discuss your list within your small group and decide what will possibly be important to your work this year, with respect to the context of a chemistry course. There is a great deal of information you really will not need, such as DOT codes, but you need to know where to find it if you ever do need it. Consult your textbook for terms used in typical labs as a guide. Include TLV and LD₅₀.
6. On your list, define, describe, and tell why each piece of data might be important. Ask questions, of both your group members, other groups, and the instructor as you work.
7. Make 4 copies of your draft. We will swap and discuss all the plans in small groups. Again, you are welcome to make amendments to your own work - but you must research, re-write and re-validate on your own.

Part 2B: Constructing a Chemical Data Resource

The properties of each substance you will investigate are listed below. Explain the meaning of each. One property can be calculated if you know a few things about the substance. Explain how to do this.

• Formula Name - give both the chemical and common names
• Chemical Formula -
• Appearance -
• Molar Mass - What is molar mass? Explain how it can be calculated given the formula.
• Density-
• Solubility
• Melting Point
• Boiling Point
• Flammability -
• Hazards - include TLV and/or LD50 values (look these up and explain!)

Next: Part 3: Lab Recordkeeping and Lab Notebooks

Introduction	Task	Process page 1 page 2	Resources	Conclusion	Evaluation	Rubric
		Main
Return to chemistar home e-mail webmaster