Safety, Risk Assessment & Ethics

Revise Safety, Risk Assessment & Ethics for Biology 3 (IAL) WBI13 (AS Level) — revision notes, 2 practice questions and instant AI marking.

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Edexcel IAL Biology • Unit 3: Practical Skills in Biology I

Safety, Risk Assessment & Ethics

⚠️ Big idea: A risk assessment is not a list of hazards — it is a set of matched pairs. For every hazard you name, you must say what harm it could do and what specific precaution reduces it. Marks are awarded for the pairing, never for the list.

Summary — What This Topic Covers

The difference between a hazard and a risk
Writing a risk assessment that pairs hazard → harm → precaution
The hazards that come up repeatedly in the Core Practicals
Handling living organisms and microorganisms responsibly
Ethical considerations in fieldwork and in work with animals

1. Hazard vs Risk

Key Terms

A hazard is something with the potential to cause harm — a hot water bath, a scalpel, a corrosive solution.

A risk is the likelihood that the hazard actually causes harm, in the way you are using it.

Concentrated acid in a sealed bottle on a shelf is a serious hazard at low risk. The same acid being poured by a class of thirty is the same hazard at much higher risk. Precautions reduce the risk; they rarely remove the hazard.

Analogy

A lion is a hazard whether it is asleep or not. The risk is what changes when you walk into the enclosure.

2. Writing a Risk Assessment That Scores

The structure

Every line must have three parts:
hazard → the harm it could cause → a specific precaution.

✗ "Wear goggles." ← precaution with no hazard ✗ "Hot water is dangerous." ← hazard with no precaution ✓ "The water bath at 80 °C could scald the skin, so tubes are moved with tongs and the bath is placed away from the bench edge." ✓ "Iodine solution is an irritant and can stain or irritate the eyes, so safety goggles are worn and spills are rinsed with water."

Where students lose the marks

Writing "be careful" or "handle with care". These name no action. A precaution has to be something an examiner can picture you doing.

3. The Hazards That Recur in the Core Practicals

HAZARD HARM PRECAUTION ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Scalpel / sharp blade deep cuts cut away from the body, on a tile, not in the hand Water bath 60-80 °C scalds tongs; bath away from edge Bunsen flame burns, fire tie hair back, safety flame when not heating Benedict's solution irritant to eyes/skin goggles; wash off spills Iodine solution irritant, stains goggles; rinse with water Ethanol highly flammable no naked flames; water bath only Glassware cuts from breakage check for cracks; sweep up, never pick up by hand Microorganisms infection aseptic technique; tape lids; incubate below 30 °C

Ethanol and flames

Ethanol is used in several practicals and is highly flammable. It must be heated in a water bath, never over a Bunsen. This pairing appears in mark schemes repeatedly.

4. Working with Microorganisms

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Also in the full note

Practice Questions
What to Memorise
Concepts Checklist
Exam Tips
5. Ethics — Organisms and Fieldwork

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