MYP Chemistry: Safe Lab Practice & Apparatus FAQ

Name the exact apparatus (not 'container' — say beaker, conical flask, or burette), state the specific hazard, and link it to a precise precaution. Examiners want cause-and-effect: this chemical does X, so you do Y. Vague answers like 'be careful' score zero every time.

You need to distinguish measuring cylinders from burettes and pipettes (accuracy differs), conical flasks from beakers (titration vs general mixing), and Bunsen burner parts (barrel, collar, air hole). Getting the name wrong on a diagram question usually costs the mark even if your reasoning is sound.

The main ones are 'identify' (name a hazard or apparatus), 'describe' (give a detailed account of a precaution), 'explain' (give reasons, so link hazard to consequence), and 'evaluate' (weigh up whether a method's safety measures are sufficient). Each demands a different depth of response — matching that is half the battle.

You should recognise the GHS pictograms used in most MYP labs: corrosive, flammable, toxic, irritant, oxidising and environmental hazard. Each has a specific meaning tied to handling rules — corrosive isn't the same risk as irritant, and mixing them up in an answer suggests you don't actually understand the chemical.

Safety usually sits inside Criterion B (Inquiring and Designing), where you're expected to identify hazards and safety precautions when planning an investigation, and Criterion C (Processing and Evaluating), where you evaluate whether your method was safe enough. According to the MYP Sciences guide, both criteria are marked out of 8 across four achievement bands.

A hazard is the thing that could cause harm (e.g. concentrated sulfuric acid is corrosive); a risk is the likelihood and severity of that harm actually occurring given how it's used. Examiners want you to name the hazard, then assess the risk in context — spilling acid on skin versus a sealed, small-volume reaction are different risk levels.

Full marks come from specificity: name the exact chemical or apparatus, state the precise hazard it poses, and give a precaution that actually addresses that hazard — not a generic one. I tell every student I teach: if your safety point would apply to any experiment ever, it's too vague to score.

The biggest one I see every year: writing 'wear goggles' as the precaution for every single hazard, regardless of what it actually is. Others include misnaming apparatus, forgetting to mention disposal for toxic or corrosive waste, and describing a hazard without linking it to a consequence — hazard alone isn't worth the mark.

Write your method as numbered steps, and fold safety directly into the relevant step rather than bolting a separate 'safety' paragraph on afterward. If step 3 involves heating a flammable solvent, say so in step 3 and state the precaution right there — that's what markers reward under Criterion B.

Yes — MYP focuses on identifying hazards, naming apparatus correctly and writing basic risk assessments, while DP Chemistry (first exams 2025 under the current guide) expects quantitative risk evaluation and links safety to specific practical scheme requirements. The foundations you build now in MYP carry straight into DP internal assessment write-ups.

No — the MYP Sciences guide sets the assessment criteria centrally, but individual schools choose their own lab activities, hazard lists and safety documentation style. Your child's teacher decides which chemicals and apparatus are used in class, so revision should always match what was actually covered, not a generic list found online.

Look for topic-specific revision notes covering hazard symbols and apparatus naming, plus a question bank with mark-scheme-style safety questions your child can practise against. On RevisionPrep, the MYP Chemistry Revision Notes and Topical Worksheets cover exactly this — apparatus diagrams, hazard tables and short-answer safety questions with model responses.

Because DP Chemistry, Biology and Physics all require safety and risk evaluation inside the internal assessment, and examiners expect students to already know apparatus names and hazard reasoning without re-teaching it. Getting this solid at MYP 4-5 saves real time — and marks — once the IA workload starts in DP.