Chemistry 14BL Summer 2017

Notebook Preparation and Guidelines for the MSDS Exercise

(Due on August 15 / August 16 depending on lab section)
(I) Preparation of Lab Notebook
Leave the FIRST PAGE blank for Table of Contents. If your notebook comes with a Table of Contents page,
you can use it instead.

(II) Rating Definitions of NFPA Diamond Symbol (Complete this item in laboratory notebook)

Copy the NFPA rating definitions from 0 to 4 for each of the four specific areas in the diamond symbol (i.e. health
(blue), flammability (red), reactivity (yellow) and special information (white)) from the following site to a new page
immediately after the table of contents. Label the page as NFPA Diamond Symbol Rating Definitions.

http://cleanroom.byu.edu/NFPA

You can the skip the section on Other Symbols. Please double check and make sure that the definitions were copied
properly onto the carbon copy page.

(III) MSDS Exercise (Complete this exercise in laboratory notebook)

Note: You may use any of the Web sites that are listed on the MSDS information sheet for this exercise (refer
to next page). This exercise serves as a guide for the rest of the quarter regarding the safety information that
you will need to include in the introductory material for the chemicals you will be using in the upcoming
experiment.
Chemicals: Benzene Ammonium Sulfate (Solid)
Acetic Acid (2M or 2N) Potassium Chloride (Solid)
Record the following MSDS information in your laboratory notebook for ONLY ONE of the four chemicals
listed above. Printouts directly from Web pages will NOT be accepted for grading. Refer to the next page for
information on using MSDS.
Note: You should choose the site that provides you with the chemical information that matches closely to
the concentration/reagent grade listed for the chemical.
For this exercise, you simply need to LIST the following required items shown below for the specific chemical
compound. Due date is listed on the lab schedule.
Note: Reference the site (i.e. write down the name and the URL address) that you used for looking up the
chemical information during the exercise. You may use a combination of different Web sites.
Chemical name
Formula weight (If no information is available, the chemical is mostly likely a solution or
impure material. In this case, simply write NA.)
Chemical formula (If no information is available, the chemical is mostly likely a solution or
impure material. In this case, simply write NA)
Note: MSDS only provides chemical formula and formula weight information if the
material is a pure solid or a pure solvent.
Physical state at room temperature (i.e. solid, liquid or gas)
Melting and/or boiling point
Specific gravity or density
Spill or disposal procedure (summarize in your own words)
NFPA Rating for the specific compound There is no need to define the ratings. You
should have already copied all the rating definitions under section (II).
Turn in your work for sections (II) and (III) to your TA on the due date listed on the lab schedule.
 Information on Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
The MSDS database contains information on many chemicals that are routinely used in chemistry laboratories.
The MSDS database is available on the Web. You can access the MSDS either from home or on campus.
Computer labs are located on the 4th floor of Young Hall. Login is required for using the computers in Young
Hall. The login name is the same as your UCLA login ID. The login password is your student ID. If you have
trouble logging on to the computer, ask the staff in the computer lab for assistance.
Note: Some of the MSDS Web sites listed below are restricted to connections originating from UCLA IP
addresses. Therefore, you will need to connect to the UCLA proxy server (see below) for off campus access to
any of the restricted sites.
Various MSDS Online Resources:
Sigma-Aldrich (http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/) is one of the major chemical manufacturing companies in the
world. You should see a search engine located on the upper right corner of the homepage. The search engine will
search by either the trade name of the chemical (for example, aspirin) or the common/chemical name
(acetylsalicylic acid instead of aspirin). The search engine may display results that include any compound that
contains the partial name of the chemical that you are looking for. Therefore, you must check to make sure that
the chemical is correct before you click on the name. The search results may contain many different products
Click on SDS (Safety Data Sheet) link next to the pricing to obtain safety information. For solution, you should
also check for the concentration listed next to the chemical. You should select the one that gives you the closest
concentration to the one that you will be using in the laboratory. If the compound is a solid at room temperature,
some of the products may be in solid form and some may be in solution form. You will need to make sure that
you click on the appropriate link for the material that you are searching for. NFPA rating is normally located on
the LAST SECTION of the SDS document page.

In addition to the above web site, there is another excellent Web site (Fisher Scientific) for searching chemicals
on-line: https://www.fishersci.com/us/en/home.html. You can either search a specific chemical using the search
engine. Once you select the appropriate product, click on the SDS icon. NFPA rating is normally located in
Section 5 Fire-Fighting Measures of the SDS document page.

Another excellent Web site is http://www.sciencelab.com/. Click on Chemical MSDS listing to look up a
particular chemical.

You may use either Sigma-Aldrich, Fisher Scientific or Science Lab.com to look up MSDS information for the
class.

In addition, there is also a MSDS Web site that is maintained by the University of California. Go to
http://www.ucop.edu/risk-services/ Click on Loss Prevention and Control; select UCOP Safety Programs
and Resources; click on UCOP MSDS and select UC MSDS Management System

Note: You may be able to access UCOP only through campus computers. In other words, the UCOP MSDS may
not function properly even through UCLA proxy server. Google Chrome recommended if you plan to use UCOP
MSDS.

Also available on-line is the Merck Index (https://www.rsc.org/merck-index). However, access to both UC MSDS
and the Merck Index are restricted to computers connected via campus IP address. UCLA proxy server
(http://www.bol.ucla.edu/services/proxy/) is required for off campus access.