Medical Laboratory Technician Exam Laboratory Operations and Safety 3

Question 1

Which centrifuge speed range is typically used to separate plasma or serum from cellular elements in routine blood specimens?

Accepted Answer

1,000–2,000 × g

Answer

Routine separation of plasma or serum from blood cells requires 1,000–2,000 × g for approximately 10 minutes in a standard laboratory centrifuge.

Question 2

A laboratory technician spills a concentrated acid on the bench. What is the correct immediate first action?

Accepted Answer

Flush the area with large amounts of water

Answer

The immediate response to an acid spill is to flush the area (and any affected skin) with copious water to dilute and remove the corrosive material.

Question 3

Which of the following is the correct order of draw when collecting multiple tubes via venipuncture, according to CLSI guidelines?

Accepted Answer

Blood culture → Citrate (blue) → SST (gold) → Heparin (green) → EDTA (lavender)

Answer

CLSI order of draw is blood culture bottles first, then citrate (blue), SST (gold), heparin (green), EDTA (lavender) to prevent additive cross-contamination.

Question 4

What is the purpose of a reagent blank in spectrophotometry?

Accepted Answer

To set absorbance to zero using all reagents minus the analyte

Answer

A reagent blank contains all assay reagents except the analyte and is used to zero the spectrophotometer, correcting for background color or turbidity in the reagents.

Question 5

When performing a urinalysis, a specimen that has been stored at room temperature for more than 2 hours is considered unsuitable primarily because:

Accepted Answer

Bacteria multiply and may cause false-positive nitrite results

Answer

Bacterial proliferation at room temperature converts nitrates to nitrites and alters pH, glucose, and cellular elements, making the specimen unreliable.

Medical Laboratory Technician Exam Practice Test

Medical Laboratory Technician Exam Practice Test

Medical Laboratory Technician Exam Laboratory Operations and Safety 3