Laboratory Equipment Introduction

Instructions

Below is a Picture of Common Laboratory Glassware:

Each piece of glassware has its' pro's and con's

	Pro	Con
Beaker	Has wide opening, allowing easy transfer of all types of materials Could be better choice for reactions where gas/fizz might be produced because fizz has more space to expand (won't overflow)	Cannot accurately measure the volume of materials (does show approximate volumes) Harder to "swirl" contents
Erlenmeyer Flask	"Conical" shape allows swirling of liquids without spilling Can place rubber stopper in opening to seal the vessel from the outside air Can stretch balloon over top to trap gases that are produced in reaction	Cannot accurately measure the volume of materials (does show approximate volumes) Smaller opening makes it more difficult to remove solids compared to beaker Any gas production ("fizz") can easily overflow if the flask is overfilled
Volumetric Flask	Allows very accurate measurement of one specific volume of liquid	Can only measure the volume of a liquid that the flask is designed for (a 1 L volumetric flask can't measure 1/2 L)
Graduated Cylinder	Best choice for accurately measuring the volume of a liquid having an unknown volume.	Tall, slender design makes it "top heavy" (easy to tip over) Tall, slender design makes if difficult to access material (especially solids) at the bottom of the cylinder Any gas production ("fizz") can easily overflow if the flask is overfilled

Scoopula (yes, part scoop, part spatula): very useful tool for transferring from very small to very large amounts of a solid

hot plate: very useful tool for heating beakers and flasks (some have magnetic stirring ability)

Used for measuring mass of materials

Only registered, enrolled users can take graded quizzes