SAFETY IN THE

SCIENCE LABORATORY

Protection from danger, or not being exposed to the risk of harm or

injury.

Safety

A room or place with appropriate equipment for teaching science or

doing scientific work.

Laboratory

It is protection from the risk of harm or injury while doing scientific work within a place or room designed for

scientific experiments.

Safety in the Science Laboratory

Maintaining Safety in the Lab

i. Preparing for a lab should begin the day before you will perform the lab.

ii. It is important to read through the procedure carefully and make sure you

understand all the directions.

iii. Always follow your teacher’s instructions and the textbook directions

exactly.

A. Preparing for the Lab

i. Lab activities include safety symbols.

ii. These symbols alert you to possible dangers in performing the lab and

remind you to work carefully.

B. Performing the Lab

i. Be sure to clean up the work area.

ii. Follow your teacher’s instructions about proper disposal of wastes.

iii. Finally, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after working in the

laboratory.

C. End-of-Lab Procedures

i. Some investigations will be done in the “field.” The field can be any outdoor area, such as a schoolyard, a forest, a

park, or a beach.

ii. There can be many potential safety hazards outdoors, including severe

weather, traffic, wild animals, or poisonous plants.

iii. Whenever you do field work, always tell an adult where you will be.

iv. Never carry out a field investigation alone.

Safety in the Field

Figure 13

THINK SAFETY AND

“SAFETY FIRST” ALWAYS!