LABORATORY APPARATUS - USES

LABORATORY APPARATUS - HOW TO USE AND WHAT ARE THEIR ADVANTAGES ?

1, I am ‘Test tube’…..!

A test tube is a clear glass or plastic container that is much longer than its wide, commonly has a U-shaped bottom and has an open top.  Glass and special plastic test tubes are also non-reactive.  Many metals react with all sorts of chemicals in ways that would ruin an experiment or sample. 

Chemists use test tubes to mix, heat and/or hold small quantities of chemicals for assays and laboratory experiment.  Biologists use them to culture and handle various organisms, fluids, and samples.

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2.  I am ‘Beaker’

 

A Beaker is a common container in most labs.  It is used for mixing, stirring, and heating chemicals.   It is generally a cylindrical container with a flat bottom.  Most also have a small spout to aid pouring.  Beaker is distinguished from a flask, by having straight rather than sloping slides.  Beakers are available in glass, and also in metal, plastics.  

Any experiment which yields a liquid product uses a beaker to catch the liquid.

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3. CONICAL FLASK

SK’mCAn Erlenmeyer flask also known as a Conical Flask or a titration flask, which features a flat bottom, a conical body, and a cylindrical neck.  It is named after the German Chemist Emil Erlenmeyer (1825-1909), who created in 1860.

Erlenmeyer flasks have wide bases, with sides that taper upward to a short vertical neck.  They may be graduated, and often spots of ground glass or enamel are used.  It differs from the beaker in its tapered body and narrow neck.  Depending on the application, they may be constructed from glass or plastic in a wide range of volumes. The mouth of the Erlenmeyer flask may have a beaded lip that can be stopped or covered.

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4.  I am watch glass….

A watch glass is a circular concave piece of glass used in chemistry as a surface to evaporate a liquid., to hold solids while being weighted, for heating a small amount of substance and as a cover for a beaker.  It can be used to prevent dust or other particles entering the beaker, the watch glass does not completely seal the beaker, so gas exchanges still occur.  When used as an evaporation surface, a watch glass allows closer observation of precipitates or crystallization.

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5. PIPPETTE

Pipette or pipet is a laboratory tool commonly used in chemistry, biology, and medicine to transport a measured volume of liquid. 

Pipette works by creating a partial vacuum above the liquid –holding chamber and selectively releasing this vacuum to draw up and dispense liquid. 

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6. RUBBER STOPPERS

•Rubber stoppers in the labs are used frequently to plug flasks and test tubes.  Its purpose is to prevent liquids, and gases, escaping from their containers and also to prevent contaminants from entering the containers.
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7. ROUND BOTTOM FLASK/ROUND BOTTOMED FLASK

   

   A GLASS FLASK USED IN LABORATORY FOR HOLDING CHEMICAL LIQUIDS AND SOLUTIONS, WHICH HAS A SPHERICAL SHAPE BODY FOR UNIFORM HEATING AND HAS CYLINDRICAL NECK. IT IS ALSO KNOWN  AS A BOILING FLASK, MOST OFTEN USED WHEN HEATING SOLUTIONS, PARTICULARLY FOR DISTILLATION. 

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8. FUNNEL

Glass funnels can be used to guard against spillage when pouring chemicals from one vessel to another, can be fitted with filter to separate solids from liquids. 

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9. GRADUATED CYLINDER

•A graduated cylinder also called as measuring cylinder, used to measure the volume of liquids.  It is used accurately to measure the volume of chemicals for use in reactions.