LABORATORY MATERIALS,

WHEN AND HOW TO USE .

 1.Beaker
 A beaker is a cylindrical container used to store, mix and heat liquids in
laboratories.
 Pour liquid into the beaker; pour slowly to avoid splashing the liquid.
Use the measuring lines on the beaker to approximate the volume of
liquid in the beaker.
 Stir the liquid inside the beaker with a spoon or stirrer.
 Center the beaker on a burner or over an open flame to heat the liquid,
if necessary; don’t fill the beaker more that 1/3 when heating and
always use safety tongs when handling a hot beaker.
 Pour liquid out of the beaker by using the spout in the lip around the
top of the beaker
2.Brushes

 Used to easily clean the inside of a test tubes and other glassware. A
test tube brush or spout brush is a brush used for cleaning test
tubes and narrow mouth laboratory glassware, such as
graduated cylinders, burettes, and Erlenmeyer flasks (Conical
flasks).
3.Buchner funnel and Vacuum filter
flask

 Used with vacuum flask for performing vacuum filtration.

 A vaccum filter fask or a Büchner flask can be used with a Büchner
funnel for separating solids and liquids.
 Water is poured into the Büchner funnel and the liquid passes through
filter paper and is sucked up by a vacuum attached to the side of the
Büchner flask, while the solid stays behind in the Büchner funnel.
 During filtration, the filtrate enters and is held by the flask while the
residue remains on the filter paper in the funnel.
4.Bunsen burner

 A Bunsen burner is a laboratory instrument that can be used to

provide a single, continuous flame by mixing gas with air in a
controlled fashion. The ratio of gas to air that is mixed together can
be manually regulated
 Bunsen burner is used for heating and exposing items to flame.
 5.Burette
Operating the Burette
 Proper burette technique is an important laboratory skill that may
take some practice to develop.
 A right handed person should operate the burette with the left
hand, and a left handed person should operate the burette with
the right.

 Before delivering any solution, record the initial burette

reading in your notebook.

 Open the stopcock by twisting it 90 degrees into the vertical

position and allow the solution to drain.
 As you are near the desired volume, slow the flow by
turning the stopcock back toward the closed position. You
should be able to control the burette to deliver one drop at a
time. When the desired volume has been delivered, close the
stopcock. Wait a couple of seconds, then record the final
burette reading.
6.Burette clamps

 Used to hold burettes on a ring stand.

 Burette clamp is used specifically to hold and secure a burette on a
stand, so that a burette is fixed more conveniently for the
experiment. Burette clamps is made with plastic or cast iron.
7.Clay triangle

 Used to hold crucibles when they are being heated. They usually sit on a ring
stand.
8.Crucible with lid

 Used to heat small quantities to very high temperatures.

 Usually made from porcelain or metal, crucibles enable chemicals to be heated to
very high temperatures. A fitting lid made of a similar material is used.
 9.Crucible tong

 Used to hold crucibles and evaporating dishes when they are hot.
10.Disposable pipette / dropper

 Used for moving small amounts of liquid from place to place. They are
usually made of plastic and are disposable.

 Pipettes are also used when measuring and dispensing liquid in mL units.
 11.Electronic
balance

 Used for weighing substances or objects, usually in grams.

 Place the electronic balance on a flat, stable surface indoors.
 Press the "ON" button and wait for the balance to show zeroes on the digital screen.
 Place the empty container you will use for the substance to be measured on the balance
platform.
 Press the "Tare" or "Zero" button to cancel automatically the weight of the container. The
digital display will show zero again.
 Carefully add the substance to the container. Ideally this is done with the container still on
the platform, but it may be removed if necessary. Avoid placing the container on surfaces
that may have substances
which will add mass to the container such as powders or grease.
 Place the container with the substance back on the balance platform if necessary and
record the mass as indicated by the digital display.
12.Erlenmeyer flask/Conical flask

 Erlenmeyer flasks are used to contain liquids and for mixing, heating, filtration,
storage, and other liquid-handling processes.
 Their slanted sides and narrow necks allow the contents to be mixed by swirling
without the risk of spills, which is useful for titrations and for boiling
13.Evaporating dish

 Used to recover dissolved solids by evaporation.

 Evaporating Dishes are glassware containers used for laboratory testing. They are
used for the evaporation of liquids and solutions to produce a solid substance or
concentrated solutions. Dishes have a shallow flat round surface to promote
evaporation.
14.Forceps

 Forceps are small tools used for picking up and moving small objects.
15.Glass funnel & Polypropylene
funnel

 Used to pour liquids into any container so that they will not be lost or spilled. They are
also used with folded filter paper for filtration to separate solids from liquids via the
laboratory process of filtering.
 In order to achieve this, a cone-like shaped piece of filter paper is usually folded into a
cone and placed within the funnel. The suspension of solid and liquid is then poured
through the funnel.
16.Glass stir rod

 Used to stir liquids. They are usually made of glass.

 A glass stirring rod is used to stir or mix solutions. One of their main uses is to
“scratch” the side of glassware (such as an Erlenmeyer Flask) to start the
crystallization process in many experiments.
 17.Graduated cylinder/measuring
cylinder
 Used to measure the volumes of liquids.
 A Measuring cylinders / graduated cylinder / cylinder measuring /
mixing cylinder is a piece of laboratory apparatus used to measure
the volume of a liquids, chemicals or solutions during the lab daily
work.
 Graduated cylinders are more precise and accurate than the
common laboratory flasks and beakers.
18.Micropipette

 A micropipette is a laboratory instrument used to accurately and precisely

transfer volumes of liquid in the microliter range.
19.Mortar and pestle

 Used to crush solids into powders for experiments, usually to

better dissolve the solids.
20.Pipette filler

How does a pipette filler work?

 Siphon liquid into the pipette to the desired level by squeezing valve “S”
on the bottom of the pipette filler. This uses the vacuum created in the
bulb to draw liquid into the pipette. Be careful not to draw liquid into the
pipette filler. ... This allows you to release liquid at the desired rate and to
the desired level.
21.Propipette / Pipette with pump

Used for accurately measuring and delivering small volumes of liquid-

usually 0.1-10 mL.
22.Ring clamp

 Attached to a retort stand and with wire gauze used to hold beakers or flasks while
they are heated by a gas burner.
23.Retort stand

 Used to hold items being heated. Clamps or rings can be used so that items may be
placed above the lab table for heating by Bunsen burners or other items.
 Used also to hold burette
24.Stoppers

 Stoppers come in many different sizes. Stoppers can have holes for thermometers
and for other probes that may be used. They may be made in rubber, wood, or
glass.
24.Separating funnel

 For separating layers of immiscible liquids or for dropping liquids.

25.Spatula

 Used for moving small amounts of solid from place to place.

26.Test tube

 Used for storing, mixing, and heating small amounts of chemicals.

27.Test tube holder

 Used to hold test tubes while heating.

28.Test tube rack

 Used to hold test tubes while reactions happen in them or

while they are not needed.
29.Thermometer

 Used to take temperature of solids, liquids, and gases.

30.Vacuum filter flask (See slide 3)

 A vaccum filter fask or a Büchner flask can be used with a Büchner funnel
for separating solids and liquids.
 Water is poured into the Büchner funnel and the liquid passes through filter
paper and is sucked up by a vacuum attached to the side of the Büchner flask,
while the solid stays behind in the Büchner funnel.
31.Volumetric flask

 A volumetric flask is a piece of laboratory glassware that is used to prepare

and measure chemical solutions.
 It is used to make up a solution to a known volume.
 Volumetric flasks measure volumes much more precisely than beakers and
Erlenmeyer flasks
How to Use a Volumetric Flask
To prepare a solution in a volumetric flask, follow these steps:
 Measure and add the solute for the solution.
 Add enough solvent to dissolve the solute.
 Continue to add solvent until you near the line marked on the volumetric flask.
 Use a pipette or dropper to fill the volumetric flask, using the meniscus of the solution and the
line on the flask to determine your endpoint.
 Seal the volumetric flask and invert it to thoroughly mix the solution.
 32.Wash bottle

 While wash bottles are mainly used to wash or rinse various pieces of glassware or
plastic ware in the laboratory, they also have less frequent uses such as precisely filling
volumetric flasks.
 Wash bottles can also be filled and used as storage with numerous solvents.
 33.Watch glass

 Used to hold solids when being weighed or transported. They should never be heated.
 Can also be used to cover beakers or other containers.
 A watch glass is a round, concave glass dish used for evaporation in chemistry.
 It can also be used for weighing solids and as a lid for flasks and beakers.
34.Wire gauze

 Used with a ring clamp to support glassware over a Bunsen burner.

 Wire gauze is an important piece of supporting equipment in a laboratory as
glassware cannot be heated directly with the flame of a Bunsen burner, and
requires the use of a wire gauze to diffuse the heat, helping to protect the
glassware.
 Glassware has to be flat-bottomed to stay on the wire gauze.
35.Borosilicate glass tube

 Used to connect to other items of glassware or equipment to

deliver chemicals, solvents, liquids, gases and other products.
36.Deflagrating spoon or gas jar spoon

 Generally used for the burning of materials inside gas jars or

similar.
37.Thistle funnel

 Glass thistle tubes are a useful piece of glassware for adding

chemical solutions to a reaction vessel.
 Thistle tubes minimize the risk of a reaction occurring too quickly and
bubbling over
 Thistle tubes are typically used to add liquid to an existing
system or apparatus.
 Thistle funnels are used to add small volumes of liquids to an exact
position.
38.Cardboard cover

 Used to cover apparatus containing liquids

39.Rubber tube

 Rubber tubing is often connected to a condenser, which is a laboratory tool

used in the process of distillation.
 The rubber tubing helps cool water to flow in and out of the condenser and
 40.Borosilicate delivery tube

 The delivery tube is particularly useful for bubbling a gas from a gas cylinder or
stoppered vessel through a liquid.
41.Trough

 Used for collecting gases, such as hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Troughs
require a liquid such as water.
42.Beehive shelf

 Usually used to support a receiving jar or tube while a gas is being

collected over water with a trough.
43.Graphite rods

 Used as electrodes
44.Metallic rod

 Used to test the heat conduction of metals

45.Aluminium foil

 Can be used for temporary covering of instruments,

shielding in vacuum equipment, packaging, wrapping etc,
46.Sulphur rod

 Used to test the heat conduction of non-metals

47.Charcoal rod

 Used in the combustion reaction of

carbon
 Used to test the electrical conduction
48.Syringe

 Often used for measuring and transferring solvents and reagents where a
high precision is not required.
49.Electrolyser

 Used in the electrolysis process

 50.Gas jar and cover

 Used for collecting gas from experiments

51.Plastic balls

 Used to illustrate Brownian movement