Unit 00 · Day 2
Risk, Safety & Ethics
Learn to classify activities by safety tier, scan for hazards, define stop conditions, and protect people, evidence, organisms, and environments.
Learning objectives
- Apply the three safety tiers
- Identify hazards, controls, and stop conditions
- Explain why ethics and accurate reporting are part of scientific quality
Materials
- Science notebook
- Laboratory Safety Framework
- No practical materials required
Follow the written procedure. Stop whenever materials, supervision, health needs, or environmental conditions differ from the lesson.
1. Safety is part of scientific quality
An investigation is not scientifically successful if it produces data by placing people, organisms, communities, property, or environments at unreasonable risk.
| Tier | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Independent home-safe | Observation, models, metric measurement, public datasets |
| Tier 2 | Responsible-adult supervision | Heat, glassware, tools, low-voltage circuits, household chemicals |
| Tier 3 | Qualified laboratory only | Concentrated chemicals, mains electricity, unknown microbial cultures |
2. Risk scan
Before an activity, identify the hazard, who or what could be harmed, how exposure could occur, the control used, and the condition that requires stopping.
A procedure asks students to heat water in a glass container. List at least four questions that must be answered before the activity can begin.
3. Ethical habits
- Do not fabricate, hide, or silently change data.
- Protect privacy and remove unnecessary personal identifiers.
- Minimize disturbance during fieldwork.
- Use organisms responsibly and follow applicable rules.
- Report incidents and near misses.
4. Essential question & risk model
Essential question: How can a scientist reduce risk before collecting data, and why is safe practice part of evidence quality rather than an optional extra?
A hazard is a source of possible harm. Risk depends on both how serious the harm could be and how likely exposure is under the planned conditions. A control changes the procedure, equipment, environment, or supervision to reduce risk. A stop condition states when the activity must not begin or must immediately end.
Safety planning is scientific reasoning because changing a procedure can change both risk and data quality. A control that protects a person but also changes the measured system should be documented so the evidence can be interpreted honestly.
5. Worked risk-scan example
Consider a hypothetical classroom activity that proposes warming water in a glass container. Do not perform the activity from this example.
| Question | Reasoning |
|---|---|
| What is the hazard? | Hot water, heated surfaces, glass breakage, and spills could cause harm. |
| Who or what could be harmed? | The learner, nearby people, electronics, surfaces, or property. |
| What controls are needed? | Appropriate supervision, suitable heat-safe equipment, a stable work area, safe handling procedures, and separation from electronics. |
| What is a stop condition? | Damaged glass, missing supervision, an unstable surface, unsuitable equipment, or any condition that differs from the approved procedure. |
A scientifically responsible student does not “push through” a failed safety condition to finish an assignment. The correct action is to stop, document the reason, and use an approved alternative.
6. Vocabulary, ethics & misconception checks
- Hazard: something with the potential to cause harm.
- Risk: the combination of possible severity and likelihood under specific conditions.
- Control: a measure used to reduce exposure or harm.
- Stop condition: a predefined condition that ends or prevents an activity.
- Near miss: an event that could have caused harm but did not.
- Research ethics: principles that protect people, organisms, communities, environments, privacy, and the integrity of evidence.
Why is “I have done this before and nothing bad happened” not a valid safety argument? Explain how repeated success can coexist with unacceptable risk.
7. Retrieval, mentor safety review & portfolio evidence
- Distinguish hazard from risk.
- Name one control and one stop condition for a safe household measurement activity.
- Explain why fabricated or silently deleted data is both an ethical and scientific-quality problem.
- Explain why privacy protection can matter even when a dataset seems scientifically useful.
Give Archaemenes a hypothetical activity and your proposed hazard, control, and stop condition. Ask the mentor to identify one question you may have overlooked. The mentor does not approve hazardous work; actual activity permission remains with the course safety tier and responsible adult or qualified laboratory authority.
Create one completed risk scan for a Tier 1 activity you expect to do this year. Include hazard, possible harm, control, stop condition, and one ethical consideration.