EXPERIMENT 1

Introduction to Chemistry
Name: ------------------------------------ St. Id.: ------------------------------------

Section: ---------------------------------- Date: -------------------------------------

Objectives
 To gain experience in recording data and explaining observations.
 To develop skill in handling glassware and transferring chemicals.
 To become familiar with basic safety precautions in the laboratory.
 To become familiar with proper name and use of laboratory apparatus.

Experiment
Introduction to Chemistry laboratory apparatus, their use and laboratory safety guidelines

Discussion
The laboratory is a critical component of your study of chemistry. Therefore, a student must
complete all of the assigned laboratory work, including all written & practical work with care
and understanding.
GENERAL SAFETY GUIDELINES:
 Conduct yourself in a responsible, thoughtful manner at all times in the laboratory.
 Follow all written and verbal instructions carefully. If you do not understand a
direction or part of a procedure, ask the instructor before proceeding.
 Be prepared for your work in the laboratory. Read all procedures thoroughly before
entering the laboratory.
 Observe good housekeeping practices. Work areas should be kept clean and tidy at all
times. Bring your laboratory instructions, worksheets, and/or reports to the work area.
 Keep the floor area around the lab work areas clear. Push any unused stool under the
lab benches or appropriate distant place when not in use.
 Know the locations and operating procedures of safety equipment e.g. first aid kit, fire
extinguisher etc.
 Be alert and proceed with caution at all times in the laboratory. Notify the instructor
immediately of any unsafe conditions you observe.
 Experiments must be personally monitored at all times. Do not wander around the
room, distract other students, or interfere with the laboratory experiments of others.
 You will choose a lab station at which to work. You will use equipment from common
lab station drawers. You are responsible to keep the proper equipment in the
drawers. Seek replacements for missing or broken equipment from the teacher. Do not
look for missing equipment in another lab group’s drawers.
CLOTHING

 Wear laboratory goggles any time; toxic chemicals, heat, or glassware are used.
 During lab activities long hair, dangling jewelry and loose or baggy clothing (ties) must
be secured. Shoes must completely cover the foot.
 Lab coats are must and may be worn at any time during the lab activities.

ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES

 Report any accident (spill, breakage, etc.) or injury (cut, burn, etc.) to the instructor
immediately, no matter how trivial it may appear.
 If a chemical should splash in your eye(s) or on your skin, immediately flush with
running water from the sink for at least 05 minutes.
 When mercury thermometers are broken, mercury must not be touched. Notify the
instructor immediately.

HANDLING CHEMICALS

 All chemicals in the laboratory are to be considered dangerous. Never taste chemicals
in the laboratory. Do not touch or smell any chemical unless specifically instructed to
do so. The proper technique for smelling chemical fumes will be demonstrated to you.
 Check the label on chemical bottles twice before removing any of the contents. Take
only as much chemical as you need.
 Never return unused chemicals to their original containers.
 Always put the appropriate lids or stoppers back on the stock bottles or containers
immediately when you are finished. Many chemicals absorb moisture from the air.
 Never use mouth suction to fill a pipette. Use a rubber bulb or pipette pump.
 When transferring reagents from one container to another, hold the containers away
from your body.
 Concentrated acids must be handled with extreme care. You will be shown the proper
method for diluting strong acids. Always add acid to water, swirl or stir the solution
and be careful of the heat produced, particularly with sulfuric acid.
 Handle flammable hazardous liquids over a pan to contain the spills. Never dispense
flammable liquids anywhere near an open flame or source of heat.

HANDLING GLASSWARE AND EQUIPMENT

 Carry glass tubing, especially long pieces, in a vertical position to minimize the
likelihood of breakage and injury.
 Never handle broken glass with your bare hands. Use a brush and dustpan to clean up
broken glass. Place broken or waste glassware in the designated glass disposal
container.
 When removing an electrical plug from its socket, grasp the plug, not the electrical
cord. Hands must be completely dry before touching an electrical switch, plug, or
outlet.
 Examine glassware before each use. Never use chipped or cracked glassware. Never
use dirty glassware.
 Report damaged electrical equipment immediately. Look for things such as frayed
cords, exposed wires, and loose connections. Do not use damaged electrical
equipment.
 If you do not understand how to use a piece of equipment, ask the instructor for help.
 Do not immerse hot glassware in cold water; it may shatter.

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HEATING SUBSTANCES

 Exercise extreme caution when using a gas burner. Take care that hair, clothing and
hands are a safe distance from the flame at all times. Do not put any substance into the
flame unless specifically instructed to do so. Never reach over an exposed
flame. Light gas burners only as instructed by the teacher.
 Never leave a lit burner unattended. Never leave anything that is being heated or is
visibly reacting unattended. Always turn the burner or hot plate off when not in use.
 You will be instructed in the proper method for heating and boiling liquids in test
tubes. Do not point the open end of a test tube being heated at yourself or anyone else.

Common Laboratory Procedures

1. Using the Balance
A balance is used to measure the mass of an object. Each laboratory room contains two
electronic balances that are very easy to use. To use the balance, turn it on by pushing the tare bar
down. The electronic readout should then be lit. Open one of the sliding doors and be sure the
balance pan and surrounding area is clean. You can clean it with a balance brush or Kim
wipe. Next shut the doors and press the tare bar to set the balance at zero. Now simply place the
object to be weighed on the balance and measure the mass to 0.01 grams.

Figure 1: The Balance

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Always use weighing paper when weighing solids to protect the balance. To do
this simply place the weighing paper on the balance pan and be sure it is not
touching the side. Press the tare bar on the right side and the balance will then
read 0.000 g. Now add the desired mass of solid and record the mass. Always
clean the balance carefully after use. At the end of the period, turn off the
balance by raising the tare bar. Always use the balance with extreme care as it is
very expensive.

2. Handling Solids
Use a clean spatula to transfer solid from bottles. Never use a contaminated spatula. Also,
never return unused solid to the reagent bottle. Simply discard it. To avoid waste, never remove
more solid from a bottle than is necessary.

3. Handling Liquids
When transferring liquids from a reagent bottle, always remove the cap/stopper
and hold it in your hand. Never place the cap/stopper on the bench or
contamination could result. Pour the liquid slowly and carefully to avoid spillage.
You may find the use of a glass rod helpful, as is shown below in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Liquid Transfer

4. Measuring Liquid Volumes

Many glassware items have volume marks printed on them. Before using a piece of glassware to
make a volume measurement, you should take a moment to study its calibrations to insure that
you know how to read them properly. A beaker or Erlenmeyer flask can be used for rather
rough measurements. A graduated cylinder of the appropriate size can be used for
measurements of moderate accuracy. A pipette is commonly used to transfer an accurately
known volume of a liquid from one container to another. However, the accuracy of such a
transfer is only as good as the technique of the operator will allow.
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In making any volume measurement, the liquid level should always be the same as your eye
level. Erlenmeyer flasks and graduated cylinders are usually filled/read by raising them to
your eye rather than by squatting down to bring your eye level to the bench top. The liquid
level in a pipette is always lowered to the mark while the mark is held steady at eye level

Burettes:
With practice, the position of the meniscus of a liquid in the 50 mL burettes used in the
Chemistry lab can be estimated to within 0.1 m L. Fig. 4 shows the use of a card with a dark
strip on it to sharpen the image of the meniscus. You will find by experiment that if the top of
the strip is positioned slightly below the level of the liquid in the burette, the bottom
of the meniscus will be very easy to see.

Figure 4: Reading the Meniscus

Pipettes:

Students often experience some initial difficulty in using a pipette. The

following instructions, the illustrations in Figure 5 and some hands-on practice
using deionized water should help you to become proficient fairly quickly

Figure 5: Using a Pipette

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5. Filtration

You will often need to separate a liquid from a solid. At times you will simply decant, that
is, you will carefully pour out the liquid, leaving the solid behind. At other times you will
need to filter the solution. To do this you will use filter paper and a funnel. You must first
fold the paper in order to accelerate the process; this is shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Folding of a filter paper

You will then set the paper in the funnel using your wash bottle. To do this simply place
the paper into the funnel and add a small amount of water to the bottom of the filter. Slowly
add water to the sides with a circular motion to avoid air bubbles between the paper and the
funnel. Once the paper has set, transfer the solution to be filtered. If the solid has settled, decant
the liquid through the filter first in order to save time. Never overwhelm the filter; don't add the
solution too quickly and never come to within one centimeter of the top of the paper. Transfer
the solid using a wash bottle and rubber policeman, and then wash the solid as directed by the
experimental procedure.

6. Heating
You will use both a hot plate and a Bunsen burner to heat solids and solutions.
Always be careful to avoid burns and never heat a material too quickly or
explosive "bumping" can occur. When using a hot plate always begin at the
setting indicated in the manual. However, this setting may vary depending on the
hot plate so you will have to experiment. In using a Bunsen burner, always use a tight blue flame
as shown in Figure 7. Control the heat transfer by adjusting the distance from the burner to the
object. Note that the distances suggested in the manual are measured from the hottest part of
the flame to the object.

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Figure 7: The Bunsen Burner

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Common Chemistry Laboratory Equipment

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Exercise

Q.1 State whether each of the following laboratory precaution is true or false.
1. Wear safety goggles in the laboratory.
2. Bring food and drink in the laboratory.
3. Note the location of fireextinguisher in the laboratory
4. Do not perform unauthorized experiments
5. Waft a gas toward your nose when detecting an odour.
6. When heating a test tube, point the open end in safe direction.
7. Always pour acid into water, not water into acid.
8. Do use organic liquid near an open flame in the laboratory.

Q.2 What is the name of following lab equipment?

Q.3 What should you do if any chemical comes in contact with your skin?

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