Bio Lab 1

1. Describe the function of the following pieces of safety equipment and how each might be used:
a. Eye wash- To be used in the event of a chemical splash to the eyes. Should be used to flood the eyes for at least 15-30 minutes with water, flooding from the eye outward.
b. Fire Blanket- To be used in the case of a small fire. Would be tossed onto flames to suffocate the flow of oxygen.
c. Shower- Safety showers are designed to flood your body with water in the event of a fire or chemical spill. Should be stood under for at least 15-30 minutes.
d. Chemical spill kit- Chemical spills are treated differently from biological spills. A bleach solution is not appropriate for a chemical spill. If the spilled chemical is an acid, then an appropriate base will be used to neutralize that acid. If the spill is a solution that is basic in nature, then an appropriate acid is used to neutralize the spill.
e. Biological spill solution- This should include bleach to decontaminate any potential biological spill.
2. Briefly describe a situation when each of the following waste disposal containers would be used and give example of the waste involved.
a. Broken glass container- Discard coverslips and broken glass in a designated "Broken Glass Container." At home, if glassware is broken at any time, carefully dispose of it so that no one taking out the trash or reaching into the trash is mistakenly injured and possibly infected.

Such a situation could include dropping a beaker full of hydrogen peroxide onto the ground.
b. Biological Hazards Materials Container- If I had happened to be working with blood and needed to dispose of it in a safe and effective manner, this would be the container to be used.
3. Metric Measurements: Perform each of the following conversions.
a. I am 73 inches tall, which is the equivalent of 185.42 centimeters.
b. 0.0002159 kilometers
c. Assuming it was full, 1700 milliliters.
d. .355
e. 22.65 cakes, so 22 cakes.
f. 8.5 grams
4. Temperature: Perform the following temperature conversions:
a. Normal body temperature is 98.6°F. The student is not feeling well and only has a Celsius thermometer available. The student's temperature is taken and the thermometer reads 38.5°C.
1.) 101.3 Fahrenheit
2.) The student is running a fever.
b. The student's cookbook says roast beef is rare at 140°F, medium at 160°F, and well done at 170°F. The student prefers beef cooked medium and only has a meat thermometer in °C. What temperature will the thermometer reach for the roast to be done the way the student likes it?
1.) 71.1111 Celsius
c. The student is driving in Mexico and notices that daytime temperatures are only given in °C. The student sees a sign indicating that the current temperature is 29°C. What is the temperature in °F?
1.) 84.2 Fahrenheit
5. What is the purpose of the control group in the Scientific Method? Briefly explain and use examples.
1.) The purpose of a control group is to be able to control all variables in the experiment. Examples of something like this would be if a group was trying to figure out the effect of a certain chemical on weight loss. They would need to have a “control group” that was not administered the drug, an experimental group who was administered the drug, and perhaps a placebo group that was told they were being administered the drug just for fun.
6. Design a (hypothetical) experiment that adheres to the Scientific Method. Be sure to include all the necessary requirements at each step and give examples at all of the steps. Start with an observation, whether it's real or made up, state the null hypothesis, and design an experiment (including an experimental and control group, random sampling, sample size, and reproducibility) that will allow the student to reject or fail to reject the hypothesis, and state the conclusion.

Observation: In a practical approach to the scientific method, I have noticed that if a PB&J is made with peanut butter on the insides of both pieces of bread, that the jelly will not leak through the bread by the time lunch comes around.

Ho There is no difference in the way that a PB&J sandwich will leak jelly through its bread because of the location of the peanut butter.
Experiment: The experiment will include two different groups. The control group will be a standard peanut butter and jelly sandwich made with peanut butter on the inside of one side of the bread, and jelly spread on the inside of the other side of the bread. Two pieces of bread will be used per sandwich, as well as 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, and 2 tablespoons of jelly. The experiment will use 15 sandwiches for the control group. The experimental group will consist of 15 sandwiches made with 2 pieces of bread, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, and 2 tablespoons of jelly. In this group, the sandwiches will be made by spreading 1 tablespoon spread on each piece of bread used in the sandwich. The jelly will then be spread evenly atop the peanut butter.
Conclusion: After observing the condition of each of the sandwiches used in the experiment after 6 hours of being in a plastic sandwich bag it was clear that the experimental group possessed a much better condition than the control group.
7. a. What solution is used to clean biological spills- 10% bleach solution
b. Chemical spills are treated differently from biological spills. A bleach solution is not appropriate for a chemical spill. If the spilled chemical is an acid, then an appropriate base will be used to neutralize that acid. If the spill is a solution that is basic in nature, then an appropriate acid is used to neutralize the spill. (An acid + a base → a salt + water) Note that the product is neutral.
8. List three things that one can do to protect oneself from contamination/injury in the laboratory. (6 points)
a. Wear protective gloves
b. Wear protective eyewear (goggles)
c. Wear closed toe shoes
9. How might the information gained from this lab pertaining to the scientific method, safety, or measurement be useful to the student, or how can the student apply this knowledge to everyday life as a non-scientist?

Like I kind of used in the peanut butter and jelly example, there are a ton of different ways that the scientific method can be used in every day life. For example, I work with social services. I have to take daily notes of the families and children that I work with. I use these notes to help myself better prepare my plan to appropriately and effectively manage the families that I work with. Without these vital notes and constant review my job would be nearly impossible. Some things work very well, and others do not. Like science, or job has a growing knowledge base. The more and more people that we work with the more resources and notes that are available for case studies.