Lab Report

Title

CALIBRATION OF A 25-ML PIPETTE

Name : Lim Kah Hou

Matric No : U2103352/1
Group : Occurrence 2
Experiment no : A1
Date : 27th December 2021
Lecturer : Dr Nor Asrina Binti Sairi
Procedure
The experiment was carried out according to SIC1011 Basic Laboratory Techniques Manual

Objectives
1. To be able to handle a pipette precisely
2. To determine the accuracy of pipette by relating pipetted volume to mass measurements

Results
Mass of an empty weighing bottle: 31.6143g
Table 1: The mass of the distilled water transferred using pipette
Mass of the weighing Weight of distilled water transferred / g
Trial Temperature / oC
bottle / g In air In vacuum
1 56.4938 24.8795 24.9059 28.5
2 56.5040 24.8897 24.9161 28.6
3 56.5051 24.8908 24.9171 29.0
Since the mass obtained in the first trial differ more than 0.005g from the rest of the trials, it is not used in the
following calculation.

Weight of distilled water in vacuum, Wa

= mass of the weighing bottle contained pipetted volume – mass of the empty weighing bottle

1.06𝑊𝑎
Weight of distilled water in vacuum, W = 𝑊𝑎 + Wa = weight of distilled water in air
1000

28.6+29.0
Average temperature : 2

: 28.8oC ≈ 29.0oC
24.9161+24.9171
Average mass : 2

: 24.9166 g
𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠
Volume of distilled water transferred : 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑡 29.0𝑜 𝐶
24.9166
: 0.99597

: 25.017 ml
 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑
Accuracy of pipette : × 100%
25.00
25.017
: × 100%
25.00

: 100.07%

Discussion
From the results obtained in this experiment, the volume of liquid transferred by pipette is
slightly more than the desired volume, 25.00ml, which can be indicated by the accuracy of
measurement of pipette calculated, 100.07%, that exceeds the expectation by 0.07%. The are
several factors which could lead to such result. One of them could be human error whereby during
the measurement of volume, the meniscus was exceeded from the calibration mark as the
experimenter eyes’ level was not perpendicular to the scale. However, this is less likely to be the
main cause because same experiment was carried out 3 times with high precision – the values are
quite similar to each other. Another probable causes would be systemic error in which the scale
was not accurately printed which results in the reading being slightly deviated from the true volume
intended to measure.

Nonetheless, in practicality, errors are expected to happen during the experiments. This is
because there are many possible factors that could influence one’s results and it is almost
impossible to prevent random error from taking place. Therefore, as long as the accuracy does not
deviate significantly from the true value, it will impose little to no effect to the outcomes of the
experiment and the result is said to be acceptable.

Questions

1. Does the pipette empty from full volume to zero or from zero to full volume?

The pipette empty from full volume to zero

2. Is the pipette designed to be emptied by gravity with the tip in contact with the vessel or to be
expelled by blowing out with pipette filler? Explain why?

The pipette is designed to be emptied by gravity with the tip in contact with the vessel.
This is because the volume of liquid a pipette contained will be more than what was written
on the scale as it includes the volume for drainage holdback error, that is, the liquid that
remains on the tip of pipette as well as the wall of pipette. Therefore, the liquid remain on
the tip of pipette should not be emptied.

Conclusion

The first objective was able to achieve. The volume measurements taken throughout the
experiment have high precision which indicates the pipette was handled well. Next, the second
objective was also able to achieve. The accuracy of pipette was calculated to be 100.07% which
can be considered as high accuracy. This further indicates that the pipette was used in a proper
manner. The accuracy was calculated by using mass measurements and volume pipetted which
fulfilled the objectives of this experiment.

Reference

• SIC1011 Safety and Basic Laboratory Techniques Lab-Manual