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Science Lab - Importance and its Organization

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SCIENCE LAB

Importance and its Organization

Anjali  V S                         Submitted on: 14^th August of 2015

Physical Science

Kaviyattu College of Education, Pirappancode

Contents

Introduction

The Importance of Science Lab in Schools

Importance of Lab Work

General Principles of Lab Construction

Commonly used Lab Equipments

Laboratory Maintenance

Laboratory Rules and Regulations

First Aid in Laboratory Accidents

Conclusion

References

Introduction

                      

       A laboratory (informally, lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed.

Laboratories used for scientific research take many forms because of the differing requirements of specialists in the various fields of science and engineering. A physics laboratory might contain a particle accelerator or vacuum chamber, while a metallurgy laboratory could have apparatus for casting or refining metals or for testing their strength. A chemist or biologist might use a wet laboratory, while a psychologist’s laboratory might be a room with one-way mirrors and hidden cameras in which to observe behavior. In some laboratories, such as those commonly used by computer scientists, computers (sometimes supercomputers) are used for either simulations or the analysis of data collected elsewhere. Scientists in other fields will use still other types of laboratories. Engineers use laboratories as well to design, build, and test technological devices.

Scientific laboratories can be found in schools and universities, in industry, in government or military facilities, and even aboard ships and spacecraft.

The Importance of Science Lab in Schools

It is imperative for schools to have the latest and high quality science lab these days. Science is different from any other subject. In order to understand its concepts, one has to look beyond the books and conventional classroom teaching. Effective teaching and learning of science involves seeing, handling and manipulating real objects and materials. The knowledge that kids attain inn classrooms would be ineffectual unless they actually observe the process and understand the relationship between action and reaction.

Effective teaching and learning of science involves a perpetual state of show and tell. Good schools combine classroom teaching with laboratory experiments to ensure that their students grasp each and every concept thoroughly. It is also believed that laboratory teaching and experiments that are being conducted there help encourage deep understanding in children. Children are able to retain the knowledge for longer when they see the experiments being performed in front of their eyes.

Science lab equipment allows students to interact directly with the data gathered. They get a first-hand learning experience by performing various experiments on their own. Students are made to use the models and understand different scientific theories and concepts. It is also found that school science lab equipment and supplies make teaching and learning easy both for the teachers, as well as for the students.

To conclude, schools must have the latest science lab supplies and equipment to make science interesting and effective for students and to encourage them to make significant contributions in the field of physics, biology, chemistry and other streams of science later in life.

Importance of Lab Work

Science is essentially a practical activity which proceeds through the testing of theories by means of experimental work and observations. The experiments carry out in the laboratories are an integral part of the teaching and learning process of the course. The students are encouraged to prepare in advance of each laboratory session by reading the experiment sheet, searching the literature for information on the theoretical background of the experiment, and planning the layout of report.

Science educators have believed that the laboratory is an important means of instruction in science since late in the 19th century. Laboratory activities were used in high school chemistry in the 1880s (Fay, 1931). In 1886, Harvard University published a list of physics experiments that were to be included in high school physics classes for students who wished to enroll at Harvard (Moyer, 1976). Laboratory instruction was considered essential because it provided training in observation, supplied detailed information, and aroused pupils' interest. These same reasons are still accepted almost 100 years later.

The main aims of the laboratory work are:

• To make the students familiar with some of the equipment and terminology used in science
• To help students understand the underlying principles/theories behind the experimental techniques and test the theoretical knowledge with real data. This will enable students to appreciate the applicability and limitations of the theory.
• To train the students in the analysis of data and in its presentation in tables and graphs. To help students develop the skills for writing and presenting technical reports in the most effective manner.
• To give students experience of working in a team. Team work will be of importance to you, whatever career you finally pursue. Many scientists both in industry and in research work as part of a team. We shall encourage and foster team working as part of the laboratory experience on this course.
• To train students in carrying out procedures. Much of your work, whatever your future career, will involve following established procedures. Any alterations to these procedures may have disastrous or expensive consequences.
• To train students in experimental methods, this may be applied to research later in the course, and in their future career.

Laboratory teaching assumes that first-hand experience in observation and manipulation of the materials of science is superior to other methods of developing understanding and appreciation. Laboratory training is also frequently used to develop skills necessary for more advanced study or research.

Five groups of objectives that may be achieved through the use of the laboratory in science classes:

1.    Skills - manipulative, inquiry, investigative, organizational, communicative.

2.    Concepts - for example, hypothesis, theoretical model, taxonomic category.

3.    Cognitive abilities - critical thinking, problem solving, application, analysis, synthesis.

4.    Understanding the nature of science - scientific enterprise, scientists and how they work, existence of a multiplicity of scientific methods, interrelationships between science and technology and among the various disciplines of science.

5.    Attitudes - for example, curiosity, interest, risk taking, objectivity, precision, confidence, perseverance, satisfaction, responsibility, consensus, collaboration, and liking science.

Positive research findings on the role of the laboratory in science teaching do exist. Laboratory activities appear to be helpful for students rated as medium to low in achievement on pretest measures (Boghai, 1979; Grozier, 1969). Godomsky (1971) reported that laboratory instruction increased students' problem-solving ability in physical chemistry and that the laboratory could be a valuable instructional technique in chemistry if experiments were genuine problems without explicit directions. Working with older, disadvantaged students in a laboratory setting, researchers (McKinnon, 1976; McDermott et al., 1980) used activities designed to create disequilibrium in order to encourage cognitive development.

General Principles of Lab Construction

Laboratory design and construction plays an essential and critical role in ensuring that laboratories and associated areas are safe places to work and visit.   
        Safe design principles are fundamental to laboratory design. These principles consider the safety of those who construct, maintain, clean, repair and demolish a laboratory building or structure, as well as those who work in or visit the laboratory. Laboratory personnel, project managers, design managers, architects, engineers, and others involved in the laboratory design and construction process, have an important role to play in identifying health and safety risks that could arise throughout the life cycle of the laboratory building or structure and where practicable, eliminating or reducing risks during the design and construction phase.
         Management of health and safety in laboratories is therefore an ongoing responsibility shared by a number of people who control the design, construction, use and maintenance of these areas.

Laboratory Room - Plan

Access to Laboratories

Laboratories are considered to be high risk environments when compared to other areas in the University (e.g. offices, tutorial rooms, lecture theatres etc). As a result, entry to any laboratory is to be restricted to individuals who are authorized by the laboratory supervisor or laboratory manager, to enter. The Supervisor shall ensure that any person given authority to enter receives appropriate:
(a) information regarding hazards and related risks that are present;
(b) safety measures to be adopted (e.g. local rules, SOPs, suitable protective clothing and equipment etc), and
(c) supervision.

Laboratory Room – Plan

Furniture

Lab Benching – Design Considerations

When it comes to selecting the benches you would like to design and install into your lab, careful consideration needs to be taken to ensure quality and functionality. While traditionally wood and metal casing was used for lab benching, today’s laboratories require furniture design that is modular and movable, allowing easy adjustments to change with their operations.

To allow for all possibilities, lab benching is now constructed of either medium density fibre board (MDF) or melamine faced chipboard (MFC) as a carcass, and at Tecomak we recommend Trespa Athlon, Corian from DuPont or Deterra’s Iroko worktops. These hygienic and highly resistant work surfaces offer the best in flexible options while standing the test of durability. They provide both a good degree of chemical resistance while also being easy to clean, allowing for the high standards of housekeeping needed in the lab environment.

With a life expectancy of more than 20 years, ensuring that your lab benching is designed to fit your ongoing requirements is essential. From the dimensions through to storage and the services that you can access from your lab bench worktops, all must be carefully considered:

Height – While with many different uses benches can come in a variety of sizes, the standard height for lab benching is 850mm, or 900mm if in a prep room. Of course, these can always be altered for special requirements, and seating can be supplied to fit, from stools through to fix benching.

Facilities – when it comes to the facilities that may need to be accessed from your lab benches, gas, electricity, water and waste are often required, and these can easily be fitted into your design.

Lighting – offering instant focusable light, LED lighting offers a cost effective and long life lighting solution to a lab environment, which can be designed for complete flexibility.

Storage – within the lab environment, storage options vary greatly. From under bench storage, Gratnells trays, wall storage cupboard and cabinets, there is a wealth of options to choose from.

Compliance – building regulations for lab benching will vary from industry to industry depending on the risk involved. At Tecomak we design your lab benches to fulfill the requirements of your regulators.

Science Lab Benches – Modular Design Options

Whether in a school environment, or in industry, Tecomak have over 35 years’ experience in designing, manufacturing, installing and refurbishing science labs and we understand the latest requirements both practically, safety-wise and regulatory.

Offering a full service – from design through to installation – we can be brought in at the design stage where we can work with you to bring your ideas to life or with your architect to create the area required. You can draw on our skills and knowledge to ensure every aspect is considered. From basis layouts through to fully installed technical laboratories we offer three design options, all offering functionality and durability, to cater for all requirements:

Pedestal – this cost effective and hard wearing solution is perfect for use in education, healthcare and in industry, and is created with worktops that are supported by cupboard units underneath.

Cantilever – offering much greater flexibility for your choice of under unit storage, again ideal for use in education, healthcare and in industry. With this option your furniture is supported by a framework with cantilever steel legs.

Suspended – this furniture is ideal for clean environments where contamination can be an issue – especially those in industry and in healthcare, where hygiene is of paramount importance. With suspended benches,  the entire floor space beneath is left clear for cleaning.

Each of these options can be designed to your specific needs, including your choice of colour. In education Corian products offer great levels of aesthetic design flexibility, but each solution is chosen and tested by our qualified engineers for its safety and durability, and key to its lifespan is good housekeeping.

Bespoke Lab Benches

Of course, not all labs need the same approach and at Tecomak, we pride ourselves on working to specific customer requirements which can include detailed and intricate briefs. Whether you have special requirements for the height of your benches, you need to factor in specific needs for the positioning of services, or you have created a design to compliment the interior of the rest of your facility or your brand, Tecomak offers the professional service you need to create your vision.

 

Picture	Name	Use
	Compound Microscope	Uses two lenses to make things look larger.
	Cover Slip	Used to cover specimens on a microscope slide.
	Glass Slide	Used to place specimens on to observe under the microscope.
	Magnifying Glass or  Hand Lens or Simple Microscope	Uses one lens to make things look larger.
	Hot Plate	An electrical device used to heat things up.
	Graduated Cylinders  (glass or plastic)	Used to measure liquid volume. A very accurate tool. Graduated in mL.
	Beaker (glass or plastic)	Used to stir, heat (if glass), and measure liquid volume in mL (rough estimate).
	Beaker Tongs	Used to handle hot beakers.
	Florence Flask	Glassware used to heat and store substances.
	Erlenmeyer Flask	Glassware used to heat and store substances.
	Rubber Stoppers	Used to plug a flask or testtube for safe keeping.
	Test Tube	Used to mix, heat, or store substances.
	Test Tube Rack	Used to hold test tubes.
	Test Tube Holder	Used to hold a hot test tube.
	Test Tube Brush	Used to clean test tubes.
	Funnel	Aids in pouring liquids into small openings without spilling them.
	Petri Dish	Used to hold specimens for observation and to grow cultures.
	Meter Stick	Used to measure length in the Metric System. One meter = 10 dm or 100 cm or 1000 mm.
	Eye Dropper	Used to measure and transfer small amounts of liquids.
	Triple Beam Balance	Used to measure mass in grams.
	Thermometer	Used to measure temperature in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit.
	Safety Goggles	To be worn when told to do so to protect your eyes.
	Ring Clamp	Used to clamp onto a ring stand to sit a beaker or flask.
	Test Tube Clamp	Used to clamp onto ring stand to hold test tube.
	Ring Stand	A stand used to support a ring clamp or test tube clamp.

Laboratory Maintenance

Throughout most of the twentieth century, maintenance was primarily reactive; instruments and equipment were used until they broke and then maintenance was called to repair them. As equipment became more complicated, the philosophy of “run to failure” was augmented by the concept of preventive maintenance to delay the failure. The central idea was to prevent equipment from failing by replacing key parts before they wore out. This approach continues to be used to some extent by virtually every laboratory. While this idea seems eminently logical and reasonable, data collected by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)/airline industry committee chartered to study maintenance strategies revealed surprising results.¹ The data showed that the common belief that reliability declines with increasing age is generally not true for complex equipment and that scheduled maintenance generally has little effect on the overall reliability. In fact, for many instruments, there simply is no effective form of scheduled maintenance.

Even more disconcerting was the realization that preventive maintenance might actually introduce additional risk of failure. For example, the service technician might accidentally damage the affected or adjacent equipment in the course of the inspection, repair, adjustment, or installation of a replacement part, or might install defective parts, or incorrectly reassemble the equipment. It was also found that equipment is more likely to fail early in its life than later—an effect known as infant mortality.

This effect is familiar to most laboratory managers in the case of computers, where problems are more likely to surface within the first few weeks of use than in subsequent years. Thus, each installation of new parts during preventive maintenance reintroduces some degree of risk of the infant mortality effect. This does not imply that preventive maintenance is ineffective or should be discarded, but only that it should be used judiciously within a broader, more strategic approach that considers the effectiveness of each task to ensure that the benefits are commensurate with the risk.

Realizing that it is virtually impossible to prevent equipment failure, the focus shifted from prevention to the concept of preservation of function. This philosophy, known as reliability centered maintenance (RCM), accepts that equipment will always fail but seeks ways to preserve function. The basic principles are:

·         Focus on preservation of system function

·         Identify specific failure modes

·         Rank importance of failure modes

·         Identify effective means to mitigate the highest-ranking modes.

Under this system, the objective of the preventive maintenance program is to alleviate the consequences of failure rather than prevent the failure. Thus, if the consequence of a particular failure mode has no adverse effect on safety, operations, environment, or cost, there is no need for scheduled maintenance. Due to the resources required to identify possible failure modes, the scope of RCM programs is generally limited to a small segment of instruments and equipment deemed truly business critical. A decision tree defines the preferred maintenance strategy¹ to preserve function for each of the likely failure modes that includes options such as run-to-failure, redundancy, scheduled discard and replacement, equipment redesign, or more advanced maintenance techniques.

One of the advanced techniques used in RCM is predictive maintenance. This approach strives to use technology to detect the onset of equipment degradation and to address problems as they are identified. It differs from preventive maintenance in that needs are based on the measured condition of the equipment rather than on a predetermined schedule. Thus, component operational life and availability can be extended, equipment downtime for servicing is decreased, and maintenance labor and parts expense are decreased. Common technologies used in predictive maintenance are vibration analysis, lubricant metals analysis, and various on-line monitoring sensors to indicate equipment wear and progression toward failure. Unfortunately, the high cost of test equipment and expert resources required to properly employ this technique generally limit its use to large, high-value mechanical equipment.

The popularity of total quality management (TQM) during the 1980s and ’90s extended into maintenance philosophies with the introduction of total productive maintenance (TPM).² This approach recognizes the importance of the role of the operator and teamwork in achieving and maintaining the highest level of equipment reliability. Proponents of this philosophy believe that equipment should have its lowest reliability on the day that it is delivered and should undergo continuous improvement throughout its useful life. Anyone who operates, maintains, purchases or stores parts, modifies, installs, programs, makes decisions, assigns work, or otherwise has a direct or indirect effect on the reliability of an instrument should be involved in its maintenance. The philosophy embraces all of the elements of RCM, predictive maintenance, risk analysis, and other advanced techniques, but extends to include the softer teamwork, attitude, and behavioral issues common in TQM programs.

Management options

Many laboratories have internal instrument technicians who provide first-level support by performing most repairs on chromatographs, ovens, and other relatively simple equipment. Instrument companies (OEMs) facilitate this approach by offering low-cost training courses on equipment maintenance and repairs that provide sufficient knowledge to perform tasks such as rebuilding detectors or pumps, troubleshooting flow problems, or exchanging circuit boards. Some OEMs also provide excellent call center support to facilitate these in-house repairs by stepping the technician through the diagnostic procedure. However, the majority of an instrument technician’s time is spent on preventive maintenance and calibration tasks; OEMs or independent service providers (ISPs) are typically used only to assist with overflow work or to handle repairs or tasks beyond the ability of the technician after an initial assessment. In addition, service contracts are purchased for certain complex or potentially hazardous equipment such as X-ray spectrometers, in which the OEM is the sole service provider. This operational model can produce relatively low costs provided there is sufficient work to keep the technician busy. Fully burdened labor rates for internal resources are typically less than OEM service technician rates, and travel-related expenses are avoided.

While the in-house maintenance model appears to be a cost-effective option, there are often hidden costs. For example, in large companies, inefficiencies in management of capital inventory and coordination of multiple service contracts can result in higher costs and the loss of any potential savings.³ Roles and responsibilities shared with other departments such as purchasing or central maintenance are often ill defined, and the laboratory manager who has primary responsibility typically lacks sufficient time to properly manage this function. Laboratories in regulated industries or those that have achieved accreditation to the ISO 17025 standard face an additional administrative burden in providing documented, auditable records of all work performed. Reporting requirements are significant and tend to be neglected or degrade in quality over time unless aggressively audited and managed.

Over the past few years, several commercial vendors have developed maintenance services to introduce efficiencies into this function, improve equipment reliability, relieve much of the burden of management, and bring a new order to the entire system. Instrument service contracts and point-of-need repair services have been supplemented with more complex and comprehensive programs that promise not only higher reliability but also 15–25% lower costs. The most sophisticated plans extend to include often badly neglected areas such as equipment inventory control and disposition services. Some of the common commercial options are managed maintenance, multivendor repair, and comprehensive or total facility maintenance services.

On-site multivendor repair (MVR) services are offered by ISPs and several OEMs, where a single vendor performs maintenance on all brands of equipment. This service is similar to the internal model except that management and staffing of the function is delegated to the commercial provider. Laboratory labor rates for MVR instrument technicians include the provider overhead and are typically similar to or greater than internal rates but still offer savings over OEM contracts. As with in house services, these providers typically limit repairs to a relatively few types of commodity equipment that constitute the bulk of the laboratory’s capital inventory. They may also maintain parts inventories to speed repairs and provide generic repair training for their service technicians. Negotiated OEM service contracts or demand services may stay in place for the remainder of the equipment. While managers appreciate the cost savings of this approach, scientists responsible for the instruments are often concerned about relinquishing control of the quality of repair to the MVR vendor and are reluctant to turn their instruments over to technicians they view as less qualified. The skill gap is a greater concern with newer, more complex equipment, where it is difficult for the MVR providers to keep abreast of the latest technology when they do not have access to the OEM training resources. For this reason, most laboratory managers take a very cautious approach to selecting this option.

The managed maintenance model continues to rely on OEM repair services but provides a single administrative point to manage all contracts. By maintaining accurate inventory records and aggregating contracts, service providers are able to guarantee cost savings while providing additional value-added management services. The primary concern with this model is a potential decline in service response time if the OEMs give preferential treatment to their direct service contract customers. The reality is that OEMs are typically customer oriented and provide good service levels regardless of the maintenance funding mechanism. This issue can also be addressed during the purchase negotiations for any of these services by identifying the truly mission critical instruments and equipment and designating them for guaranteed priority service. The service provider can then secure priority service for the designated equipment. Fortunately, only a small number of instruments are typically critical to the operation of a laboratory; thus a reasonable downtime is acceptable for the rest in order to achieve the cost savings and retain the quality relationship with the OEM—the objective in this model is to optimize performance rather than maximize uptime at any cost. While any instrument downtime is an inconvenience, scientist productivity is typically not impacted since they simply switch to other equally important tasks until repairs are completed. Since the managed maintenance model does not compete with the OEM, the customer continues to benefit from factory-certified technicians, access to parts and diagnostics, application support, and continued remote troubleshooting services that can quickly and accurately identify and fix the problem.

For those managers who prefer to employ advanced maintenance philosophies such as TPM, managed maintenance is still an attractive option for the coordination, administrative, and reporting tasks. The instrument and equipment operators provide daily preventive maintenance service to the instruments, while the managed maintenance program provides a disciplined and systematic approach for low-cost supplemental repair services to relieve both the manager and staff from the administrative burden. This model can be more difficult to implement, but could offer the highest reliability at the lowest cost if successful.

Planning your work

• Practical sessions are normally timetabled for 3 hours. Arrive on time and use all the time allocated as you will need it.
• Try to allocate time to familiarize yourself with the equipment, to plan how you are going to carry out the work and to allocate tasks within your group.
• You should try to allocate time at the end reviewing your results and producing an outline for your report if one is required. If you finish before the end of the session, you should spend time reviewing your results, plotting preliminary graphs and, where possible, repeating any runs where the data appears doubtful.
• It is good practice to work out the results together in your group, discussing any problems within the group, and if necessary with the supervisor.

Laboratory rules and regulations

• Students must wait outside the laboratory until the supervisor arrives. This is because of requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act. Students are not permitted as undergraduates to work unsupervised in a laboratory.
• Students must wear a lab coat at all times when working in the laboratory. Students are expected to provide your own lab coat and you will not be allowed to work in the lab without one (the students' union shop will have information on where to purchase one).
• Students should wear sensible clothing in the laboratory. In essence, this means keeping your whole body covered, especially in laboratories where you are likely to meet hazardous substances. In particular, avoid shorts or short skirts or rolling your sleeves up.
• Footwear must have non-slip soles, low heels and must protect student’s feet (no sandals or slippers).
• Safety glasses and gloves will be supplied when required and must be worn where notices, experimental instructions or supervisors say so.
• Long loose hair must be tied back, for your own safety.
• Bags and coats should be left in a designated area and not scattered round the lab.
• Do not bring jewelers or other valuables into the labs as they can get damaged or stolen.
• Observe the university’s safety regulations at all times.

First aid in Lab Accidents

ACCIDENTS IN THE LABORATORY MAY HAVE VARIOUS CAUSES:

·         Acids and alkalis: splashes on the skin or in the eyes, swallowing.

·         Toxic substances.

·         Heat: naked flames, hot liquids, flammable liquids, explosions.

·         Injuries involving infectious material, electric shocks, etc.

FIRST AID EQUIPMENT:

·         First-aid box.

·         Sodium carbonate, 5% solution.

·         Sodium bicarbonate, 2% solution.

·         Boric acid, saturated solution.

·         Acetic acid. 5% solution.

·         Cotton wool and gauze.

·         Mercurochrome and tincture of iodine.

FIRST-AID BOX:

The first aid box should contain the following;

·         An instruction sheet giving general guidance.

·         Individually wrapped sterile adhesive dressings in a variety of sizes.

·         Sterile eye-pads with bandages for attachment.

·         Triangular bandages.

·         Sterile dressings for serious wounds.

·         A selection of sterile unmedicated dressings for minor wounds.

·         Safety pins.

·         A bottle containing eye drops.

·         A first – aid manual.

FIRST AID MEASURES:

1.    Test plumbed eyewashes weekly; keep a log.

2.    Remove chemical bottles from work area of Facilities personnel working in laboratories.

3.    Stock first aid kits with Band-Aids, 4X4 gauze, roller bandages and ace bandages (no creams, ointments, etc.); report to Physician after first aid has been administered.

4.    For Bleeding and Wound Care. Wear clean gloves. Cover area with gauze (or clean paper towels). Apply pressure to bleeding area -- have person sit or lie down. If wound is large or person is dizzy or weak, shift to hospital to Emergency Room.

5.    Burns -- Heat/Chemical. Heat burns: -- run cool water over area for 5 minutes, then report to SHS; if burn area is large, cover with a cool, wet cloth and contact physician. Chemical burns (acid or alkaline) - flush with large amounts of cool running water for 15 minutes. For small area, report to SHS. For larger area or if person is weak or dizzy, contact physician.

6.    Eye Splash Chemical. Flush with lukewarm (body temperature) running water; turn head side to side and have water run across both eyes. Flush eyes for at least15 minutes before going for further treatment at SHS or Emergency Room.7.Eye - Foreign Body (dust or metal, paint, wood chips). Cover or close eye. Report to ophthalmologist.

7.    DO NOT POUR ANY CHEMICALS DOWN SINK DRAINS OR SEWER GRATES. Call the hospital personnel for a NO-CHARGE chemical waste pickup.

Accidents in the laboratory may have various causes: Acids and alkalis: splashes on the skin or in the eyes, swallowing., Toxic substances, Heat: naked flames, hot liquids, flammable liquids, explosions, Injuries involving infectious material, electric shocks, etc. Look out for the various types of accidents involved and the various procedures that need to be followed and always consult the required medical personnel. Do not pour any chemicals down sink drains or sewer grates.

The first aid box should contain the following;

·         An instruction sheet giving general guidance.

·         Individually wrapped sterile adhesive dressings in a variety of sizes.

·         Sterile eye-pads with bandages for attachment.

·         Triangular bandages.

·         Sterile dressings for serious wounds.

·         A selection of sterile unmedicated dressings for minor wounds.

·         Safety pins.

·         A bottle containing eye drops.

·         A first – aid manual.

Conclusion

Schools must have the latest Science Lab supplies and equipments to make science interesting and effective for students and to encourage them to make significant contributions in the field of Physics, Chemistry and other streams of science later in life.

In this assignment I provide a historical account of research and practices associated with science laboratories in precollege instruction. Social contexts of research on science laboratories are described. In the separation context, each group concerned with science teaching and learning worked in isolation. For example, psychologists studied the learner, educators studied the school, and natural scientists designed the curriculum. In the interaction context, natural scientists typically worked with either classroom teachers or educators to investigate the science laboratory. For instance, classroom teachers field-tested laboratory materials and provided feedback to natural scientists. In the partnership context, all those concerned with science instruction worked together with respect for each other. For example, experts in technology designed tools and incorporated findings from cognitive investigations to improve classroom effectiveness. Research from each of these contexts contributed both findings and methods that improved the science laboratory. To continue this process of improvement, more partnerships are needed. Furthermore, future partnerships will involve experts from more and more disciplines as well as provide training for those who might bridge the contributing disciplines.

References

Websites

www.narst.org

www.sciencefirst.com

www.apcentral.collegeboard.com

www.sydney.edu.au

www.science.cleapss.org.uk

www.qub.ac.uk

www.hse.gov.uk

www.teachertech.rice.edu

www.americanlaboratory.com

www.lhup.edu

www.docs.google.com

www.jstor.org