AP Chemistry : Safety
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Example Question #1 : Safety
Your lab partner is asking you how to properly label a solution of HCl. Which label did you show him?
1M Hydrochloric Acid
100mL of hydrochloric acid
HCl
Concentrated HCl
1M of acid
1M Hydrochloric Acid
When you label chemical solutions, you should technically always use the full chemical name (though this is not always done). Using common abbreviations, like HCl for hydrochloric acid, is generally acceptable.
The reason why none of the other answers work is because they did not quantify how strong (concentrated) the HCl solution was. A 1 molar HCl solution is handled much differently than a 12 molar one. Even though the answer choice "1M of acid" did quantify the concentration, it did not say which acid was in solution, which would be very unsafe if someone else saw your beaker and needed to know how to dispose of the contents.
Labels should always provide information on the contents of the container, as well as its concentration strength.
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