Lab safety, myPLTW, and how to submit
This page has four parts, in the order you use them. Part 1 is what you need to know. Part 2 says what to do, in plain English. Part 3 shows the work done once on a case that is not yours. Part 4 is your own work and where to turn it in.
Open your materials, follow the steps, then turn in your work.
Pass a lab-safety check and sign the safety contract, tour the myPLTW web portal, and learn exactly how to submit each kind of work.
Optional: listen or watch a unit review▸
Part 1 of 4 · Background and definitions▸
💡 Big idea: We earn lab privileges by proving we are safe, and we get credit by submitting clear evidence of our work.
- • Personal protective equipment () protects you; a data sheet (SDS) lists handling, storage, and first-aid for a chemical.
- • myPLTW (classroom.pltw.org) is where the official course activities live.
- • Today's evidence is the signed contract, completed scavenger hunt, and course-access check. A blocked login is an access problem to report, not missing science work.
Notes are a process, not a page. The turn notes into a study tool you actually trust.
We earn lab privileges by proving we are safe, and we get credit by submitting clear evidence of our work.
Driving question: Before a nurse gives a medication or a tech runs a sample, they check specific things every single time. What must you be able to find and do in our room before you are allowed to touch lab materials?
What you already know: Notes are a process, not a page. The turn notes into a study tool you actually trust.
New idea: We earn lab privileges by proving we are safe, and we get credit by submitting clear evidence of our work.
Visual or model: No figure is attached to this lesson. The readings, the worked example and E1 to E3 carry the evidence.
- Observe or measure the relevant feature in today's lesson.
- Organize the observation with a stable evidence ID.
- Apply this rule: A routine works when each action controls a named hazard before exposure begins.
- Choose the option the evidence supports and state the limit of the conclusion.
Real biomedical example: Before a nurse gives a medication or a tech runs a sample, they check specific things every single time. What must you be able to find and do in our room before you are allowed to touch lab materials?
What the evidence supports: E1 to E3 support the daily take-home when the response meets the stated success criteria.
What it cannot prove: The package does not support claims beyond this lesson's or any real patient diagnosis.
- • procedure: A clear, ordered set of steps followed exactly the same way each time to carry out a task safely and get reliable results.
- • routine: A consistent set of steps done in the same order each time, which builds good habits and makes work more reliable and efficient.
- • : Personal protective equipment, the gear like gloves, goggles, lab coats, and masks worn to shield the body from chemical, biological, or physical hazards.
- • SDS: A data sheet: a standardized document listing a chemical's hazards, safe handling steps, and emergency measures for anyone using it.
- • : A note-taking layout that splits a page into a wide notes column, a narrow cue column for questions, and a summary strip at the bottom.
- • : A six-step learning cycle (Record, Reduce, Review, Reflect, Recite, Revise) used to turn class notes into deep, lasting understanding.
- • mastery: Knowing a skill or concept well enough to use it confidently under pressure, not just recognizing it on a slide.
- • : An assessment given before instruction begins so you can measure how much was learned by comparing it to a later test on the same material.
Use it now: Choose one decision option. Cite E1 and E3, then explain how the rule connects the evidence to your choice. This is thinking practice for the one turn-in named under Turn in, not a second submission.
Go further, optional: The source links below are optional enrichment. Every fact required for today's local evidence decision appears in this lesson package.
We earn lab privileges by proving we are safe, and we get credit by submitting clear evidence of our work.
Limit: This day teaches local course routines rather than a biomedical science claim.
A routine works when each action controls a named hazard before exposure begins.
Limit: A laboratory hazard can change during a procedure, so students must keep monitoring conditions after the checklist.
You can name the personal protective equipment () for a lab and find the information on a safety data sheet (SDS).
Limit: E3 defines the classroom product or success criterion. It is not independent scientific evidence and cannot justify a clinical or causal claim.
Today's decision · Simulated classroom evidence scenario
Your role: medical interventions team member
Decision: Your team must decide what the evidence from today's lesson supports before submitting the pre-lab readiness record named on today's page.
- • Sign the contract quickly and move on, since the rules are paperwork and the real lab work comes later.
- • Wait for the first lab's actual procedure and materials, since only then can each step be matched to its hazard.
- • Learn the and the SDS now, because you earn lab privileges by proving you can work safely.
Response: State one choice, cite at least two evidence IDs, explain the rule that connects them, and add one limitation. Use it inside the one turn-in named under Turn in; it is not a separate submission.
Claim ceiling: Today's evidence supports a classroom claim about today's lesson. It cannot prove causation, diagnose a real patient, or justify action outside this room.
Reason for review: Your team must decide what the evidence from today's lesson supports before submitting the pre-lab readiness record named on today's page.
Context: Lab privileges are earned by proving you can work safely, and credit is earned by submitting clear evidence, in this class as in a real clinical job.
- • T1: Icebreaker: Would You Rather, lab edition (goggles for a day or gloves for a week?).
- • T2: Learn lab : personal protective equipment (), reading a safety data sheet (SDS), and the standard operating procedure () for handling, storing, and cleaning up.
- • T3: Lab- scavenger hunt: find the eyewash, the fire blanket, the safety data sheet (SDS) binder, and the personal protective equipment () in our room.
- • T4: Read and sign the lab- contract (a copy goes home for a parent signature).
- • T5: myPLTW student access is not available yet. Follow the teacher's course tour and write access unavailable for your access check. Then practice finding the matching Schoology assignment for a notebook sample, exit ticket, and lab write-up.
- • E1: We earn lab privileges by proving we are safe, and we get credit by submitting clear evidence of our work.
- • E2: A routine works when each action controls a named hazard before exposure begins.
- • E3: You can name the personal protective equipment () for a lab and find the information on a safety data sheet (SDS).
Measurements: No patient measurement is supplied unless it appears explicitly in E1-E3. Do not invent a value.
Uncertainty: This is a composite classroom scenario. Missing history, measurements, or confirmation tests remain unknown and limit the conclusion.
Students often think rules are just a formality to sign and forget. The trap: the SDS and are the exact tools that prevent real injuries, so you sign the contract because you will actually use them
- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning: make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure, the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Tap the speaker to hear a term. Add two of these to your notebook glossary with a definition and an example in your own words.
Pick just 2 or 3 words from today and make them yours: write what each one means in your own words, name the context clue or evidence that helped, then give one example from what you actually did in Lab safety, myPLTW, and how to submit. Try your own words first; the glossary is there if you get stuck. This is voluntary and counts as extra credit, so keep it short.
Saved on this device. Show Mr. Mendoza or add these to your notebook glossary to claim the extra credit.
Part 2 of 4 · Directions in plain English▸
2.1 Open your materials
2.2 Start the work
Icebreaker: Would You Rather, lab edition (goggles for a day or gloves for a week?).
Show all 5 required steps
- Icebreaker: Would You Rather, lab edition (goggles for a day or gloves for a week?).
- Learn lab safety: personal protective equipment (PPE), reading a safety data sheet (SDS), and the standard operating procedure (SOP) for handling, storing, and cleaning up.
- Lab-safety scavenger hunt: find the eyewash, the fire blanket, the safety data sheet (SDS) binder, and the personal protective equipment (PPE) in our room.
- Read and sign the lab-safety contract (a copy goes home for a parent signature).
- myPLTW student access is not available yet. Follow the teacher's course tour and write access unavailable for your access check. Then practice finding the matching Schoology assignment for a notebook sample, exit ticket, and lab write-up.
Lost your place? Check your safety scavenger hunt for any equipment you have not found. Finish that item, then complete the course-access check with the class.
- 0-6Icebreaker: Would You Rather, lab edition
- 6-25Lab : protective equipment, safety data sheets, and the standard procedure
- 25-40Lab- scavenger hunt + sign the safety contract
- 40-65myPLTW portal tour + how to submit each artifact
- 65-80 check questions and close
- • Before we ever touch lab materials, we prove we know how to be safe.
- • You will sign a contract today, and a copy goes home for a parent signature.
- • Then we tour the PLTW portal and I show you exactly how to turn in every kind of work.
PLTW connection and today's work
Complete the course orientation checklist: routines, website, notebook, safety contract, and the baseline pretest. Check myPLTW course access; if it is unavailable, report it and use the posted class materials.
Today's stopping point: Reach the day-4 checkpoint for this unit.
PLTW activity titles identify the course connection. If your account will not open, use the posted materials for today and tell Mr. Mendoza. Do not mark an online activity complete unless you completed it.
Course connection
- No myPLTW activity today. Check your course access. If it will not open, tell your teacher and continue with the assigned orientation materials.
Use the turn-in directions in Part 4 of this page. Do not create a second submission unless your teacher asks for one.
Show another explanation or a smaller first step
Need help? Choose a starting point
Finish the assigned lab safely before starting extra practice.
Part 3 of 4 · Worked example▸
This is a parallel case, not your own. Read it for the order of the work, then do your own in Part 4.
Eyewash station: back left sink. Fire blanket: by the door. SDS binder: shelf under the fume hood.
From the SDS, the storage rule I recorded: store in a cool, ventilated cabinet away from acids.
PPE I will wear: goggles, gloves, and an apron.
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: Completes the safety SOP check: the student locates safety equipment and reads the handling information on an SDS before any lab.
- Identify the purpose, hazards, and required controls.
- Write the procedure in a usable order.
- Confirm materials, measurements, and waste handling before starting.
Keep the structure. Replace the question, facts, measurements, and evidence. Then recheck units, vocabulary, and whether the conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
A pilot uses a preflight checklist before the aircraft moves.
- Which checks happen before action?
- Which hazard does each check control?
- What happens if a familiar step is skipped?
A routine works when each action controls a named hazard before exposure begins.
A laboratory hazard can change during a procedure, so students must keep monitoring conditions after the checklist.
- • Preflight checks map to and setup.
- • Aircraft hazards map to chemical, biological, heat, or sharps hazards.
- • Go or no-go maps to the pre-lab readiness decision.
Part 4 of 4 · Your work▸
Check your work before submitting
- You can name the personal protective equipment (PPE) for a lab and find the safety information on a safety data sheet (SDS).
- You can explain where the official PLTW course is and record whether your account can open it.
- You can explain how to submit each kind of work and what counts as evidence.
Before lab work: read the safety rules
- Always wear the assigned personal protective equipment (PPE) before handling any material.
- Know where the eyewash, fire blanket, and SDS binder are before starting any lab.
- Report every spill or injury to the teacher immediately.
4.1 Turn in your work
DueCheck the Schoology assignment for this day- Hand in
- Lab-safety check: signed safety contract, completed safety scavenger hunt, and course-access check (login screenshot if available, or a note that access is unavailable).
How to submit and name your file
Hand Mr. Mendoza the signed contract. Submit the scavenger hunt and course-access check in the matching Schoology assignment.
In Schoology, open your course and the assignment for this lesson. Attach your file, select Submit, and check that it appears in the submission.
PDF upload helpYou get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
Find this lesson's Schoology assignments
These are existing assignments for your section. Follow the directions in the assignment you are working on; this list does not add new work. A PLTW Work row repeats on every day of its lesson; submit it once. Check Schoology for each deadline.
- Wk1 Pre-lab: Lab safety, myPLTW, and how to submit(today's turn-in)
- Wk1 PLTW: Lab safety, myPLTW, and how to submit(PLTW Work for this lesson: one submission per lesson, not one per day)
Link will not open? Open Schoology, choose your course and section, and find the title shown above.
- CompleteEvery required part of the artifact is present, nothing left blank.
- AccurateThe science and the data are correct and match the evidence.
- Scientific reasoningYou explain your claim with evidence and reasoning (CER), not just an answer.
- Professional communicationClear, organized, labeled, and written the way a clinician or scientist would.
- SubmittedGo to Schoology to turn this in. Submit one PDF. Schoology attaches your name to your upload; on the page itself, write your period and code. Name the file: FirstName LastName - Assignment Title - YYYY-MM-DD.pdf. If you cannot get in, see Mr. Mendoza. Do not skip the work.
- Error analysis and method · counts doubleName a specific limit of the method and how it moved your result, and compare what you predicted to what happened. "Human error" does not count; say what about the procedure or instrument caused it.
How this lesson connects
Keep using what you learned last class: Notes are a process, not a page. The 6 Rs turn notes into a study tool you actually trust. Today: We earn lab privileges by proving we are safe, and we get credit by submitting clear evidence of our work.
Practice: try a question, then check your answer▸
Claim ceiling for this check: Today's evidence supports a classroom claim about today's lesson. It cannot prove causation, diagnose a real patient, or justify action outside this room.
What counts as evidence that you actually did today's work, and where does each piece get submitted?
Write an answer and pick a confidence to unlock the key.
Missed class or ready for more?▸
Run this before you touch the bench. It is built from the real lab procedure, so the decisions you make here are the ones you will make with the equipment in your hands.
I can name the procedure's purpose and the evidence I will record. I can state today's specific hazards and the control for each. If this deck does not name them, I ask Mr. Mendoza before I touch anything. My data table is ready before materials are handled.
Finish the checklist before you handle any material.
- • Always wear the assigned personal protective equipment (PPE) before handling any material.
- • Know where the eyewash, fire blanket, and SDS binder are before starting any lab.
- • Report every spill or injury to the teacher immediately.
- 1Before materials are handled, identify the purpose, variables or comparison, controls, measurement units, and stop-work condition.
- 2Icebreaker: Would You Rather, lab edition (goggles for a day or gloves for a week?).
- 3Learn lab safety: personal protective equipment (PPE), reading a safety data sheet (SDS), and the standard operating procedure (SOP) for handling, storing, and cleaning up.
- 4Lab-safety scavenger hunt: find the eyewash, the fire blanket, the safety data sheet (SDS) binder, and the personal protective equipment (PPE) in our room.
- 5Read and sign the lab-safety contract (a copy goes home for a parent signature).
- 6myPLTW student access is not available yet. Follow the teacher's course tour and write access unavailable for your access check. Then practice finding the matching Schoology assignment for a notebook sample, exit ticket, and lab write-up.
- 7Record each result in the prepared table before interpreting it. Mark missing, repeated, or invalid results truthfully.
- 8Complete the named cleanup and waste route, remove PPE safely, wash hands when required, and confirm the station is ready for the next group.
| Which trial or sample this row is | What you changed on purpose | What you measured, with units | What you saw, before you explain it | Anything that could make this reading wrong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Before the procedure, predict the result and cite the rule behind the prediction.
After the procedure, compare the result with the prediction and name one limitation or source of uncertainty.
What today's skills lead to. These are real health-science careers this course builds toward. Tap one to see, on the US Department of Labor's O*NET site, what the job actually involves, what it pays, and how fast it is growing.
Today's work depends on equipment and locations in our lab, so it cannot be finished from home. Do the part that travels: read the target above and the safety notes, and write what you already know.
Back in class. The in-room part has to be done in the room. See Mr. Mendoza on your first day back and he will run it with you before you work at the bench.
Class still runs. Complete today's work as this page describes (it is self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
CDC Laboratory SafetySources: slides, readings, and resources▸
The deck carries the prior idea forward, lets you inspect an analogy, maps the rule to biology, and ends with the same evidence decision and exit ticket used on this page.
Vetted readings and references for this unit. Use them to prepare, to catch up if you were absent, or to go deeper on today's target.
May require a free account. Use the class copy if you cannot sign in.
This week
My Progress dashboard