Mr. Ford’s science 9 class

Riverside was introducing the new grade 9 students to their school. Most of them were excited for their first day in science class. Their science teacher, Mr. Ford, taught the new students about the safety rules and the laboratory equipment by showing them videos and websites. After watching all the videos Mr. Ford gave them a graphic organizer to brainstorm all their ideas for their assignment. Their assignment is based on the five lab equipments and three safety rules. They will have a quiz on the WHMIS symbols on Wednesday. 

The first safety equipment they learned was the ring stand. While heating up a substance during an experiment, it supports many items such as the pipestem triangle and iron ring. Then they learnt about the pipestem triangle. It holds the crucible in place that contains chemical compounds while being heated. After they learned about the utility clamp. The utility clamp holds equipments in place such as test tubes on a ring stand. Then learned about the beaker which holds and heats liquids. Lastly they learned about the file which is used to sharpen other items and breaks down materials.

After learning about the equipment, they needed to learn about the safety rules. So they started with the first safety rule which was not eating or drinking during a lab. Then the next rule was all the instructions must be followed before doing the activity. Lastly the final rule was to wear laboratory gloves during the activity or in lab.

While they were learning about the WHMIS symbols, Mr. Ford was happy with how the students have been working and realized how much they have gotten done. So he decided to change the date of the quiz. He told the class that they will have a small quiz about the definitions of WHMIS symbols and a lab tommorow. The next day Mr. Ford’s class sat at their seats quietly and was filling out the quiz, it went like this:

What is the definition of this symbol:  Answer : This symbol means humans or animals can be damaged physically or can be killed.

What is the definition of this symbol :  Answer : This symbol means that it is an organism that can cause a disease in animals and humans.

What is the definition of this symbol :  Answer : This symbol means it’s toxic and when you inhale it can kill your living organisms.

What is the definition of this symbol : Answer : This symbol means it’s flammable and it will burn very quickly and intense.

Before they started the lab, Mr. Ford explained the instructions to the students. One of them wasn’t listening because she was on her phone. Once Mr. Ford was finished explaining, he got a call and had to go to the library. Mr. Ford said he will be back in twenty five minutes and told them to not touch the equipment.

The students were chatting while they wait. The girl on her phone, Shannon, was secretly touching the lab equipment. She didn’t put her hair back and got to close to the Bunsen burner which got her hair on fire. She saw a spray and a fire blanket. She never payed attention to the safety rules and failed her quiz. She instead grabbed the spray and sprayed herself. It had four symbols, Health hazard, biohazards, caution poison and caution flammable. She started panicking and screamed. The whole the class heard her scream and saw her head on fire. One of the students quickly grabbed the fire blanket and wrapped it around her head. Luckily she didn’t lose all of her hair thanks to the student who wrapped the blanket quick enough.

After that incident she had to go to the hospital to make sure she was ok. She had to stay in the hospital for a few days until she can go back to school. She learned her lesson and now been listening to the instructions and getting good marks on her work since that terrifying moment.