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20 votes
20 votes
Why do you think it is a bad idea to use taste, touch, or smell to identify an

unknown chemical?

User Motlicek Petr
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2.3k points

1 Answer

17 votes
17 votes

Answer:

Because it can cause health problems or injuries to our sense organs.

Step-by-step explanation:

Chemicals in the laboratory are made up of different constituents, which may be dangerous or injurious to health. This is the reason why safety measures or precautions have to be taken when working in the laboratory. One of those safety measures is that "one should never use taste, touch, or smell to identify an unknown chemical".

This is so because a chemical that is unknown amounts to the fact that what such chemical contains is unknown, hence, the chemical might have the ability to cause harm or injuries to the sense organ. For example, a conc. acid that is tasted will burn the tongue etc.

User Xnickmx
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3.5k points