Science Skills Unit 1: Lab Safety and Equipment

Unit 1: Science Skills - General Lab Safety Rules

• General precautions are essential lab safety rules.
• Protective clothing should be worn.
• First aid procedures must be available.
• Using equipment correctly is vital.
• Heating and fire safety procedures need to be followed.
• Handling sharp materials requires careful technique.
• Appropriate chemical handling procedures for working with chemicals are mandatory
• Cleaning up spills and materials is necessary at the end of the experiment

Unit 1: Lab Equipment

• Beaker: Used to measure liquids or chemicals.
• Glass Cylinder: Used to measure liquids or chemicals
• Erlenmeyer Flask: Used to measure liquids or chemicals.
• Bunsen Burner: Used for heating or burning things with a flame.
• Eye Dropper: Used to pick up and drop liquids.
• Granulated Cylinder: Used to measure liquids or chemicals.
• Funnel: Used to pour liquids into something else.
• Scopula: Used to scoop things.
• Thermometer: Used to measure heat.
• Test tube holder: Holds test tubes.
• Digital scale: Weighs items.
• Safety glasses: Protects eyes.
• Test tube brush: Used to clean test tubes.

WHMIS Symbols

• W: Workplace
• H: Hazardous
• M: Materials Handling
• I: Information
• S: System

Hazard Symbols (Oxidizing, Poisonous, Health Hazard)

• Oxidizing hazard: Substances speed up fire, making them more intense. Examples: Chlorine, Bleach
• Poisonous: Substances cause death/toxicity with low exposure. Examples: Bleach, WD-40
• Health hazard: Substances may cause cancer, organ damage or genetic defects after repeated exposure. Examples: Formaldehyde, Radiation

Hazard Symbols (Corrosive, Explosive, Biohazardous)

• Corrosive: Damages metals, eyes, and skin. Examples: Chlorine, NaOH, Bleach
• Explosive: May cause self-reactive explosion harming surrounding areas. Examples: OFF bug spray, Hair spray
• Biohazardous infectious materials: Includes harmful organisms and toxins causing disease in people or animals. Examples: Viruses, Bacteria, Mold

Environmental Hazard Symbols

• Environmental hazards: Substances cause harm to aquatic environment and aquatic life. Examples: Chemical spills, Pesticides

Significant Figures

• Any digit between 1 and 9 is significant.
• Zeroes between non-zero digits are significant.
• Zeros at the end of a number and after a decimal point are significant.
• Zeros used as placeholders are not significant.

Unit 2: Principles of Ecology

• Ecology: The study of how living organisms interact with each other and their environment.
• Producers: Living organisms that make their food using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide (e.g., plants, algae).
• Primary Consumers: Organisms that eat producers (e.g., herbivores).
• Secondary Consumers: Organisms that eat primary consumers (e.g., carnivores).
• Tertiary Consumers: Organisms that eat secondary consumers (e.g., top carnivores).
• Decomposers: Organisms that break down decaying matter (e.g., bacteria, fungi).
• Heterotrophs: Organisms that cannot produce their own food.
• Autotrophs: Organisms that produce their own food.
• Herbivores: Animals that eat plants.
• Omnivores: Animals that eat both plants and animals.
• Carnivores: Animals that eat other animals.
• Detritivores: Organisms that feed on dead organisms.
• Scavengers: Feed off dead animals.
• Biotic: Living components of an ecosystem (plants, animals, bacteria).
• Abiotic: Non-living components of an ecosystem (water, sunlight, soil).
• Habitat: The environment a particular species lives in.
• Invasive species: Non-native organisms that negatively impact an ecosystem.
• Photosynthesis: The process by which plants use sunlight to produce food.
• Pyramid of Energy: A graphical representation of the flow of energy in an ecosystem, declining energy at each trophic level.
• Pyramid of Biomass: A graphical representation of the total mass of living organisms at each trophic level, declining from producers through apex predators.

Unit 3: Chemistry in Action

• Element: A substance containing only one kind of atom. (e.g., Na, H2)
• Compound: A substance made up of two or more different elements. (e.g., H20, NO3)
• Bohr diagrams: Show the structure of an atom; electrons in orbitals around the nucleus.
• Lewis dot diagrams: Show valence electrons of an element.
• Physical change: Alteration of physical properties, appearance, or state, without changing chemical composition.
• Chemical change: Transformation of substances with formation of new substances/ products. Formation of new substance(s)/product(s)
• Cation: Positively charged ion (metal).
• Anion: Negatively charged ion (non-metal).
• Ionic bond: Formed by transfer of electrons between a metal and non-metal.
• Covalent bond: Formed by sharing electrons between non-metals.
• Polyatomic ion: Ions composed of two or more bonded atoms.
• Chemical equation: Representation of a chemical reaction showing reactants and products.

Unit 4: In Motion

• Displacement: Change in an object’s position.
• Interval of time: Duration between two events.
• Velocity: Speed and direction of motion.
• Acceleration: Change in velocity over time.
• Newton’s First Law of Inertia: An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
• Newton’s Second Law: Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass and is equal to the force divided by the mass.
• Newton’s Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.