Chemistry Lab Equipment and Glassware

flint lighter

A tool used to create a spark when lighting the Bunsen burner.

watch glass

This glassware is used to hold solids or liquids for observation. It makes a good lid for small or medium- sized beakers.

volumetric flask

This glassware is used to mix solutions in the laboratory. The plastic snap top creates a leakproof seal.

thermometer clamp

This lab tool attaches to the ring stand. Its jaws are just the right size to hold a thermometer securely in place.

crucible tongs

This lab tool has small jaws perfectly suited to picking up a hot crucible and removing it from the clay triangle.

wire gauze

This lab tool is used on top of a ring clamp. A beaker sits atop the white ceramic pad in the center of the wire square. The ceramic pad fans out the burner flame and distributes heat evenly across the bottom of the beaker.

rubber stopper

This lab tool is used to seal the mouth of a test tube or other glassware when an air-tight seal is desired.

cork stopper

This lab tool is used to seal the mouth of a test tube or the mouth of other glassware when an air-tight seal is not necessary. This wood contains small tunnels in its structure that air and airborne bacteria can easily pass through.

test tube holder

This metallic tool is used to move a hot test tube from one place to another. It is also used to hold a test tube while it is being heated in a flame.

scoopula

This metallic tool is used to transfer solids from one container to another in the laboratory. Never transfer solids with your fingers since many chemicals are toxic or cause skin irritation.

pinch clamp

This metallic tool puts pressure onto a piece of rubber tubing and prevents gases from passing through.

Bunsen burner

This model allows the technician to adjust both the flow of gas fuel and the flow of air. (NOTE: The name is always capitalized because it is named after the man who designed this particular model of lab burner.)

forceps

Used to pick up and hold small objects. At home, this tool might be called tweezers but in the lab they are called forceps.

buret clamp

As its name implies, this equipment attaches to the ring stand. It holds two burets (one on each side) in the notches carved into the rubber bumpers.

evaporating dish

As the name implies, this glassware is used to evaporate water from aqueous solutions leaving behind dissolved solids in the dry dish. The white porcelain glass can be heated strongly on a hotplate or burner without breaking.

test tube

Chemicals can be placed into this glassware during reaction. This glassware made of PYREX or KIMAX can be heated gently in a Bunsen burner flame. Never point the mouth of a test tube at yourself or another student during heating because the hot liquid can shoot out unexpectedly and violently showering the student with scalding hot liquid.

beaker tongs

Contains wide jaws covered with non-slip rubber perfectly suited for picking up beakers containing hot liquids to move them from one place to another.

pneumatic trough

Pneu- is a prefix that refers to air or gas. The metallic pan is filled with water to the level of the overflow spout. The insert contains holes where gas collection bottles can be placed. The hole allows the rubber tubing to enter the gas collection bottles easily. This technique is called capturing a gas by the WATER DISPLACEMENT METHOD.

graduated cylinder

The term graduated refers to the "tic mark scale" that makes this glassware so useful for making accurate volume measurements. Of course, the term cylinder describes the overall shape. Notice the yellow plastic ring at the top. This plastic bumper should ALWAYS be near the top. If the graduated cylinder is bumped accidentally and falls over, the plastic bumper often prevents glass breakage since it hits the table top first and absorbs much of the shock of impact.

test tube rack

The wooden support stand holds test tubes in the upright position and in the inverted draining position. The model in the BCS lab is similar but constructed of black metal.

microwell plate

These plastic disks contain rounded wells that function as mini-test tubes. Many reactions can be observed in the divided compartments. The wells are numbered A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B2, etc. so that technicians are able to record reactants and results.

eudiometer

This "test tube on steroids" is used to collect gas samples. Because the tube is graduated, the volume of the gas sample can be determined. For this reason, this tool is much more quantitative than the gas collection bottle.

triangular file

This 3-sided metallic rod is used to etch and cut glass tubing.

stirring rod

This glass tool is used to swirl and mix solutions. Because it rolls off the lab table easily, it should always be stored inside a test tube or beaker in the upright position when it is not in use.

volumetric pipet

This glassware is THE MOST ACCURATE METHOD of dispensing small volumes of liquids in the laboratory. The plastic bulb is attached to the top and is used to draw fluids upwards. Never use mouth suction to pull liquids up the glass tube since the result may be that chemicals enter the mouth cavity.

Erlenmeyer flask

This glassware is larger at the bottom than at the top. This shape has two advantages. It makes it easier to seal the top with a stopper. It also makes it possible to mix the contents without splashing liquid from the mouth when the glassware is swirled. (Note: This glassware is named after the scientist who designed it so the name always begins with a capital letter.)

crucible and cover

This glassware is made of white porcelain glass. The glass can be heated to extremely hot temperatures in a flame without breaking. This glassware is used to heat solids. Often, the solids melt into the molten state (liquid state).

glass plate

This glassware is most often used as a lid or covering for beakers, Erlenmeyer flasks, or other glassware. It prevents dust and airborne contaminants from settling into a solution. The glass is not PYREX or KIMAX and cannot be heated.

gas collecting bottle

This glassware is used to capture gases during the water displacement method. Filled with water and inverted in a pneumatic trough, gases entering the bottle push water back out into the pneumatic trough.

mortar and pestle

This glassware is used to grind larger chunks of a solid into smaller pieces. The bowl is the mortar. The grinding tool is the pestle. Downward pressure must be applied for this technique to be effective.

beaker

This glassware is used to hold and pour liquids. It is usually graduated but does not measure liquids with high accuracy. Since it is made of PYREX or KIMAX glass, it can be heated on a hotplate or with a Bunsen burner without breaking.

wash bottle

This plastic container dispenses distilled water that is used to rinse away water-soluble contaminants from a solid product. The wash bottle is also used to remove solids from glass walls during transfer from one container to another.

disposable pipet

This plastic tool is used to move small quantities of liquids from one container to another. Note the graduations on the stem that can be used to measure liquid volumes.

ring clamp

This tool attaches to the ring stand and can support a funnel. It can also support wire gauze and a beaker during heating over a Bunsen burner.

utility clamp (test tube clamp)

This tool attaches to the ring stand and is used to support a test tube or to stabilize an Erlenmeyer flask.

ring stand

This tool is a multi-purpose support stand. A variety of different clamps can be attached to the vertical rod.

clay triangle

This tool is just the right size to support a crucible during the heating process over a Bunsen burner. The clay does not warm as quickly as metal so it protects the crucible from breaking during the heating process.

funnel

This tool is made of glass or plastic. It is used along with filter paper during filtration. It is also helpful in guiding liquids into containers that have small mouths.

test tube brush

This tool is used to clean test tubes with soap and water after a lab investigation has been completed.

buret

This tube-like device is used to accurately dispense measured volumes of liquids during a laboratory investigation. The stopcock works as an ON/OFF switch.

spot plate

This white ceramic dish contains twelve depressions where chemical reactions can take place and be observed easily.