Laboratory Equipment, Sampling, and Waste Disposal Flashcards

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering laboratory equipment operations, chemical sampling methods, quality control terminology, and hazardous waste disposal protocols based on the technical transcript.

Safety Data Sheet (SDS)

A document that provides useful information on chemical hazards, advice on safe handling, use and storage, and emergency measures to be followed in case of an accident; it usually contains 16 headings.

Respiratory Sensitizer

A type of chemical that can cause an allergic reaction in the airways following inhalation.

Desiccator

Sealable enclosures containing desiccants used to protect chemicals which are hygroscopic or which react with water from humidity.

Pycnometer

A specific laboratory glassware used to determine the specific gravity of a liquid.

Fume Hood

An enclosure used for the preparation of highly toxic and volatile compounds to ensure efficient ventilation and safety.

Alkaline Effect

The phenomenon where $H^+$ ions in the gel layer of the pH-sensitive membrane are partly or completely replaced by alkali ions.

To Deliver (TD)

A marking on pipettes indicating that the small amount of liquid remaining in the tip after dispensing should not be blown out.

Grab Sample

A single sample or measurement taken at a specific time or over as short a period as feasible.

Composite Sample

A sample comprising two or more increments selected to represent the material being analyzed.

Sieving

A method of passing a sample through a metal or plastic mesh of a uniform cross-sectional area to separate particles into uniform sizes.

Coning and Quartering

A type of subsampling where the sample is mixed into a pile, spread into a flattened disk, and divided into 4 parts, with one opposite pair used as the laboratory sample.

Ashing

A sample preparation process that involves the decomposition of organic matter.

Leachate

Any liquid that passes through a landfill and has extracted dissolved and suspended matter from it.

Effluent

A general term denoting any wastewater, partially or completely treated, or in its natural state, flowing out of a manufacturing, industrial, or treatment plant.

Calibration Curve

A general method for determining the concentration of a substance in an unknown sample by comparing the unknown to a set of standard samples of known concentration.

Buffer Solutions

A series of reference standard solutions that have known and accurate pH values at different temperatures used for pH meter calibration.

Wavelength

A property of a wave described as the distance between a point on one wave and the same point on the next wave.

Beer-Lambert’s Law

A law that states the linear relationship between absorbance and concentration of an absorbing species.

Matrix Spike

A type of quality-control sample used to evaluate the effects of sample matrices on the performance of an analytical method.

Instrument Blank

A clean sample, such as distilled water, processed through instrumental steps to determine instrument contamination.

Method Detection Limit (MDL)

The minimum concentration of a substance that can be measured and reported with $99\%$ confidence that the analyte concentration is greater than zero.

Systematic Error

A component of error which, in the course of a number of analyses of the same measurand, remains constant or varies in a predictable way.

Random Error

A component of error which arises from unpredictable variations of influence quantities.

Primary Standard

A pure dry solid substance of known chemical composition used in the direct standardization of a solution.

Accuracy

The closeness of the agreement between the result of a measured value and a true value.

Precision

The closeness of agreement between results of a measured value under specified conditions.

Acidic Waste

Hazardous waste with a $pH < 2$.

Alkali Waste

Hazardous waste with a $pH > 12.5$.

Ignitability

A hazardous waste characteristic applying to liquids with a flash point less than $140^\circ F$ or solids capable of spontaneous combustion.

Corrosivity

A hazardous waste characteristic applying to aqueous solutions with a $pH \le 2$ or $pH \ge 12.5$.

Reactivity

A hazardous waste characteristic for materials that are normally unstable or explosive and can cause toxic fumes when mixed with water.

Toxicity

A hazardous waste characteristic for materials that have the potential to leach specific toxic substances into groundwater if improperly disposed of.

Composting

A solid waste management practice referring to the controlled decomposition of organic matter by microorganisms into a humus-like product.

Recyclable Wastes

Waste materials retrieved from the waste stream, free from contamination, that can be converted into suitable beneficial use.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

Organic chemicals resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes.

Nebulizer

A component of an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) that creates a fine aerosol for introduction into the flame.

Monochromator

A device that separates and transmits a narrow portion of the optical signal chosen from a wider range of wavelengths.

Phenolphthalein

A chemical indicator that is colorless in acidic solutions and pink in basic solutions.

Methyl Orange

A chemical indicator that turns red in acidic solutions and yellow in basic solutions.

Halogenated Waste

Waste containing organic compounds with halogens, such as dichloromethane or chloroform.

Non-halogenated Waste

Waste containing organic compounds without halogens, such as toluene, acetone, or acetonitrile.

Pictogram

Symbols indicated on waste labels that instantly identify the kind of hazard a chemical possesses.

Cuvette

A small tube-like container with straight sides and a circular or square cross-section, used in a UV-Vis Spectrophotometer to hold samples.

Quality Assurance

A series of analytical measurements and procedures used to assess and ensure the quality of analytical data.