Essential Laboratory Equipment and Techniques

Posted on Feb 15, 2025 in Chemistry

Essential Laboratory Equipment

Measuring Devices

  • Graduated cylinder: Measures volumes of liquids.
  • Pipette (Total): Measures a precise volume of liquid for transfer.
  • Pipette (Partial): Measures partial volumes of liquids.
  • Burette: Measures the exact volume of a solution.
  • Thermometer: Measures temperatures.
  • Precision Balance: Measures masses of solid substances.

Containers and Supports

  • Porcelain: Used to heat, melt, or evaporate solids or liquids.
  • Florence flask: Heats liquids, directing vapors along a specific path (to a condenser).
  • Condenser: Condenses vapors from liquids during distillation.
  • Test tubes: Used to dissolve, heat, or react small amounts of substances.
  • Beaker: Used to prepare, dissolve, or heat substances.
  • Erlenmeyer flask: Used for storing solutions, dissolving solids, and titrations.
  • Volumetric Flask: Used to prepare solutions with accurate concentrations.
  • Kitasato flask: Used for vacuum filtration, receiving the filtered liquid.
  • Simple Funnel: Transfers liquids and is used in filtration.
  • Buchner Funnel: Used for filtration under reduced pressure (vacuum filtration).
  • Separatory Funnel: Separates two immiscible liquids in batch extraction.
  • Crucible: Used for heating solids to high temperatures.
  • Test tube forceps (Mohr): Holds test tubes.
  • Ring stand: Holds funnels and flasks.
  • Rack: Supports test tubes.
  • Tripod: Supports the metal sheet.
  • Ball Clamps: To hold the ball in the nut and support teams in the armed forces.
  • Double nut: Attach a hoop clamp, ball, and other similar supports.
  • Wood clamps: For holding test tubes and fusion pipes.

Accessories and Other Tools

  • Propipette: Used with a graduated pipette to avoid mouth-pipetting poisonous, corrosive, or volatile liquids.
  • Wash bottle: Dispenses distilled water or solutions for washing or marking.
  • Bunsen burner: Source of heat.
  • Metal grid: Supports flasks and beakers on a tripod, preventing direct flame contact.
  • Porcelain Triangle: Supports a crucible during heating with a Bunsen burner.

Essential Laboratory Techniques

Solid-Liquid Systems

  • Decantation: Separates a solid from a liquid by allowing the solid to settle and then pouring off the liquid.
  • Filtration: Separates a solid from a liquid using a filter medium, such as filter paper.
  • Vacuum Filtration (Suction): Accelerates filtration using a vacuum, a Buchner funnel, and a Kitasato flask.
  • Centrifugation: Separates a solid from a liquid using centrifugal force, causing the denser solid to settle rapidly.

Liquid-Liquid Systems

  • Batch Extraction: Extracts a substance dissolved in one solvent using another immiscible solvent in which the substance is more soluble. Common solvents include water, ethyl ether, petroleum ether, ethanol, and benzene. This is often performed using a separatory funnel.