Welcome to the Lab

Laboratory Rules

Rules are needed in the laboratory to keep everyone safe and to make sure that equipment is not damaged.

Some of the rules we use at Sacred Heart are:

Safety Rules

• Always wear safety glasses when working with glass, chemicals or heat.

• Long hair must be tied up during practical work

• No schoolbags in the laboratory - place them in the cubbyholes at the entrance

• Do not touch anything in the room on the side benches, unless instructed to by the teacher

• Do not sit on the benches or side benches

• Ensure you know the location of the emergency stop for GAS, WATER & ELECTRICITY (usually behind the teachers desk)

• Always push your chair in when not using it

• Report any breakages immediately

• Do not bring food or drink in to the laboratory

• Ask for help if you do not understand

• take note of the location of the following safety features in the lab: Emergency Exit, Emergency Eye Wash; Fire Extinguisher, first aid kit and fire blanket.

• ensure you are aware of any out of bounds areas

Courtesy Rules

• Be on time to science

• Do not talk when the teacher talks

• Remain in seats during the science lesson unless instructed by your teacher

• Bring all equipment with you to your lesson

Laboratory equipment

Below are some pictures of some of the equipment that we may use in the laboratory:

The Bunsen Burner

Bunsen burners are a common piece of heating equipment in a laboratory. They were invented by Michael Faraday but improved by Robert Bunsen.

A Bunsen Burner (often shortened to 'burner' in the lab) uses gas and premixes it with air so it can burn with a clean, sootless flame. Most burners have the ability to reduce the air supply so that the burner burns with a yellow flame which is easy to see but not used for heating because it leaves soot marks on the equipment. The parts of the Bunsen Burner are shown in the diagram below:

Lighting and using a Bunsen Burner

1. ensure you have a heat proof mat on the bench

2. connect the burner to the gas tap

3. adjust the collar until the airhole is closed

4. light your match or lighter and hold at the top of the burner

5. turn on the gas

6. withdraw the match or lighter when the burner shows a flame and adjust the flame height with tap if needed

Note that if you reverse steps 4 and 5 you run the risk of getting a mass of gas lighting in your face, which could be dangerous. For this reason you should always light the match before turning the gas on.

The flame at this point should be a yellow safety flame. The burner should be on a safety flame when it is not actually being used to heat something; this is because the heating flame is hard to see and a student might not notice and receive a burn by reaching through it,

Note: matches must be extinguished and should be disposed of in the bin at the end of the lesson; it can be a good idea to wet them to ensure there is no possibility of starting a fire in the rubbish

if your teacher uses lighters, these should be sat at the back of the bench when not in use (they are not toys and should not be used except to light burners)

When you are ready to heat with the burner, adjust it to a quiet blue flame by opening the airhole. If you open it too far, the burner will start to make a soft 'roaring' noise. This is caused by the burner going out and relighting several times a second, and happens just before the flame goes out altogether. A softly roaring flame is a bit hotter than a quiet flame and can be used for heating, but can go out very easily.

The yellow colour of the safety flame is caused by glowing particles of soot. This is why the safety flame leaves soot over equipment if you use it to heat. The hot soit particles normally burn away leaving no smoke, but if they touch cold glass they can't burn and then remain behind.