Risk Assessment Before You Start

Lab Brief #7

🎯 Your mission

Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.

⚡ The twist

Nature loves to surprise the careful watcher.

What you'll learn

A risk assessment names each hazard, judges how likely and how severe the harm would be, and states the control measure that reduces it. It is written before the practical starts, not afterwards, and it names what to do if something goes wrong.

Key words

hazard
Something with the potential to cause harm.
control measure
A specific step taken to reduce the risk from a hazard.

Make a hypothesis first

Before you start: write down what you think will happen, and why.

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "hazard" and "control measure" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Write a full risk assessment table for heating water with an immersion heater: list four hazards, the harm each could cause, the control measure, and the emergency action. Have a partner check it before any equipment is switched on.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Question 1 of 2

A risk assessment must be completed:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

A control measure is a step that:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🔬 The more you look, the more nature shows you.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: Peer Review and Reproducibility All lessons

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This shows up in your everyday life more than you'd think.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Try one experiment in real life this week — even a tiny one.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “What's the most surprising thing you learned today?”

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Risk Assessment Before You Start

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