Lab 1: Safety rules and laboratory equipment
Laboratory and practical work in biology is done only under the teacher’s supervision. First read the whole plan and make sure you understand what to do; keep only the things needed for the task on the table. Inspect every glass vessel: if it has even a small crack or chip, put it aside and show the teacher. If anything must be heated or boiled, only the teacher does it; a test tube is held with a special holder and its opening points away from everyone. Never touch, smell or taste chemicals unless the teacher tells you to. Main equipment: a test tube is a glass vessel for studying substances; a pipette drops liquid; forceps pick up and move an object; a Petri dish is used to grow bacteria and fungi; a slide and a cover glass are used to prepare a specimen for the microscope; a scalpel is a sharp little knife that only adults use. When you finish, clean the vessels, hand them in and wash your hands with soap.
“Find the tool” game: the teacher shows pictures of the equipment (or the real items) and pupils give the name and use. Then, in pairs, they draw five safety rules as a poster. Safety: only the teacher hands out real glassware; pupils never touch the scalpel.