Lab Equipment

Hope College: General Chemistry Laboratories

Fall: Chem 127 & Chem 132 - Spring: Chem 128
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  Chem 127 Agenda       Chem 132 Agenda       Chem 128 Agenda
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  Laboratory Equipment Photos     Glossary of Terms (Spanish & English)      How to Write a Lab Report

Table of Contents:

1. ERLENMEYER FLASK
2. BEAKER
3. TEST TUBE
4. VIAL WITH CAP
5. Glassware- used for measurement
1. VOLUMETRIC FLASK
2. GRADUATED CYLINDER
3. PIPET
4. BURET
6. Equipment often used in Titrations
1.  RING STAND
2. BURET CLAMP
3. UTILITY CLAMP
7. Miscellaneous
1. FUNNEL
2. WATCH GLASS
3. CRUCIBLE TONGS
4. GLASS STIR BAR
5. MAGNETIC STIR BAR
6. DISPOSABLE PIPET
7. WASH BOTTLE
8. PIPET BULB
9. SAFETY GOGGLES
10. CENTRIFUGE
11. BUNSEN BURNER
12. DESSICATOR
 

Glassware- not used for measurement

ERLENMEYER FLASK
· Designed for easy stirring, can be swirled by hand without
spilling
· Not used for measuring as they are only accurate to 5%
· Often used for titrations
· A rubber stopper fits nicely in the opening the stopper size
needed is shown with a number underneath the serial number.
BEAKER
· Used to hold varying volumes of liquid
· Not used for measuring volumes as it is only accurate to 5%
· The spout lines up nicely with the rim of other glassware for
easy pouring

TEST TUBE
· Used to hold and mix small samples
· Stirred by tapping the bottom with two fingers
· Fit into both a centrifuge and test tube rack
· Often used in qualitative analysis

VIAL WITH CAP

· Used to hold small portions of samples both solid and liquid
· When labeling, if you label the cap it is easier to read if you
write on the cap, but be sure not to separate the cap from the
vial
 

Glassware- used for measurement

VOLUMETRIC FLASK
· Measures one specific volume, marked by the etched line on the
neck.
· Easy to mix solutions, as they have glass stoppers and are
designed to be inverted multiple times to mix. Size of glass
stopper needed is listed on the bottle. Be sure to hold glass
stopper while inverting.
· Careful not to fill above the etched mark, see  reading the
meniscus

GRADUATED CYLINDER
· Used for measuring many different volumes
· The spout lines up nicely with the rim of other glassware for
easy pouring
· Carefully measure the amount you use, see  reading the
meniscus
 PIPET
· Used for measuring specific volumes 
· Used in conjunction with the pipet bulb, see pipetting 
    Graduated Pipet
· Can be used to any of the given markings along it's side. Note
that there is a TD and a TC pipet shown in the figure at right. 
    Volumetric Pipet 
· Extremely accurate, but only used for one volume
    Pasteur Pipet
· Are used for very small but non specific volumes
    TD versus TC
· To Deliver (TD) glassware measures the exact amount
measured from line after allowing the contents to pour naturally
using gravity out of the tip.  To Contain (TC) glassware requires
measuring both a beginning volume and a final volume in order
to measure how much was removed from the original contained
volume. 

BURET
· Often used for titrations or dispensing specific volumes of
liquids  
· White plastic  stop cock  is open when parallel with
the instrument and closed when perpendicular
· When not in use should be stored upside down and open

Equipment often used in Titrations

 RING STAND
 · Used in conjunction with clamps to hold equipment that cannot
stand up on its own

BURET CLAMP
· Used to hold two burets once it is attached to a ring stand.
· Burets in the clamp are free to move up and down or to spin so
that they fit your height and handedness needs

UTILITY CLAMP
· Used to hold other glassware onto a ring stand

Miscellaneous

FUNNEL
· Used to aide in the transfer of liquids
· Be careful when using a funnel as they can cause you to add
more liquid than you intend

WATCH GLASS
· Used to evaporate a liquid, to heat small portions of a substance
· Often used to cover beakers with NaOH to avoid excess reaction
with the CO2 in the atmosphere

CRUCIBLE TONGS
· Used to transfer a hot crucible inside/atop the curve at the end
of the tongs
· Can also be used to transfer other hot things by pinching them
with the tongs

GLASS STIR BAR

· Used to stir things that are often contained in beakers
· Be careful not to scrape the glass stir bar against the glass of the
beaker, or to apply a lot of pressure to the bar as they break
relatively easily
· May come with a rubber policeman on the end to avoid
scratching

MAGNETIC STIR BAR

· Used in conjunction with a stirring plate
· When it is stirring it should not continually be hitting the side
· Come in a variety of sizes, be sure that you have one that will fit
well in your glassware
· If your stir bar gets stuck in your glassware there is a magnetic
rod to remove it

DISPOSABLE PIPET
· Used to transfer small amounts of liquids
· Often used to in qualitative analysis
· Drops can be counted to make small measurements but this is
not a very accurate method

WASH BOTTLE
· Used to dispense RO water
· RO water can be found in the pointed sink faucets to refill the
bottle
PIPET BULB
· Used on the end of a pipet to aspirate liquid up into the pipet
· Be careful not to aspirate too much so that the liquid goes into
the bulb, this would contaminate it

SAFETY GOGGLES
· MUST BE WORN IN THE LAB AT ALL TIMES
· Used to protect your eyes from fumes and spills

CENTRIFUGE
· Used to separate solids out of liquids that are held in test tubes
· Must have an even, balanced number of test tubes in the
centrifuge to properly work
· Listen to the centrifuge as it runs; a thumping sound means it is
imbalanced and should be stopped and re-loaded. 
 BUNSEN BURNER
· Used to heat things
· The hottest part of the flame is at the top of the inner blue cone

DESSICATOR
· Used to remove moisture from substances or glassware