Chemistry lab is a crucial part of any school or college that directly affects the result of experiments and result. In addition, performing any reaction or making a solution in a chemistry lab requires proper and exact equipment to make the process safe and accurate. If you don’t know what laboratory equipment for chemistry is required to make the lab functional, keep reading.
Following we’ve discussed the top 22 laboratory equipment for the chemistry lab for performing various research applications.
Laboratory Equipment for Chemistry
Working in a chemistry lab can be exciting and thrilling as well as risky or dangerous. It all depends on how healthy your chemistry lab is with essential equipment. Below are the top 22 laboratory equipment for chemistry to make every reaction safe and precise to get exact results and performance.
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Erlenmeyer flask
Also known as a conical flask is common chemistry lab equipment that has a flat bottom and a narrower neck. It uses to mix a solution in the chemistry lab to avoid spilling out the content. The Erlenmeyer flask is also used to heat the content inside gently using the flask’s swirling motion, thanks to its narrow neck.
It needs to use a cork or rubber cap to cover the conical flask. But remember, you can’t heat a flask with its cap as it can cause gas and pressure build up and may end up with explosions.
Though the Erlenmeyer flask is mainly intended for easy stirring, it can be swirled by hand. It can also be used for titration but don’t give accurate result if used as a measurement flask.
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Beaker
It’s a cylindrical utensil that is made of borosilicate glass. The beaker has a flat bottom and its upper opening has a rim and spout. The rim’s spout help to pour the solution properly and it doesn’t have any covering. Hence many chemists use watch glass to cover the solutions.
The beaker largely varies in size and often uses to hold, mix and heat the substances maintaining proper measurement. Though many beakers include graduated calibrations, this chemistry lab equipment doesn’t offer accurate calculation of solution,
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Test tube
The test tube is also common laboratory equipment for chemistry. It’s a type of cylindrical pipe made of glass. The test tube contains a circular opening and bottom and it comes in a variety of sizes. However, the most common size of the test tube is 18x150mm.
It’s highly functional chemistry lab equipment and can be used for storing or mixing any biological and chemical reactions. It’s a handy apparatus for testing a large number of samples for qualitative assessment. It can be stirred by tapping the bottom using two fingers. The test tube fits into a test tube and centrifuge rack.
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Vial with cap
This lab equipment is used to hold a considerably smaller amount of samples no matter whether it is liquid or solid. It can also be labeled for easier reading and separate from other items.
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Volumetric flask
The volumetric flask is a vital apparatus for any lab including chemistry. It’s made of glass and used to hold an accurate volume of liquids at any certain temperature. The volumetric flasks come in various sizes and each of them is calibrated for precise measurement of solutions and liquids. This lab equipment is commonly used in the standard solution’s preparation.
It also makes the solution mixing job easier as the flask has glass stoppers and is intended to be reversed several times to mix.
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Graduated cylinder
It’s a type of cylindrical apparatus that has multiple markings along the length of the container. The primary purpose of using the graduated cylinder is to measure a certain volume of liquid maintaining high precision. However, during taking measurements the chemist needs to be careful with the respect to the liquid’s meniscus. The graduated cylinder also has a spout that lines up with the rim for easier pouring.
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Pipette
The Pasteur pipette also known as the dropper is a common small piece of equipment used in a chemistry lab. It’s usually made of glass or plastic cylinder and has a small nozzle as well as a rubber holder. The chemist uses this pipette to put the solution or liquid in any medium dropwise like putting one drop at a time. It’s an extremely essential precaution from some small solution.
There are plenty of types of pipet available and each of them comes with certain purposes. For example, a volumetric pipet uses to get extremely precise measurements while a Pasteur pipet is suitable for measuring small yet non-specific volumes.
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Buret
Buret is a very popular chemistry laboratory equipment and it’s mainly used in titration reactions. This lab equipment is also handy for getting a known volume of any substance. Buret can also be considered as a long graduated tube that has a stopcock at the lower end and a narrow opening. It needs to use a burette clamp and ring stand to set up a buret. This chemistry lab equipment usually comes in 10ml, 25ml, and 50ml sizes.
Many chemists use buret for titrations or dispensing certain volumes of liquid. When not in use, the buret needs to store upside down and open.
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Ring stand
This chemistry lab equipment is used to suspend burettes, crucibles, and flasks from over Bunsen burner or other containers for heating purposes. During heating this flask, the chemist needs to use wire mash to maintain an even distribution of heat. It needs to use conjunction with clamps to hold this equipment as it can’t stand up on its own.
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Buret clamps
The buret clamp is used to hold two burets after attaching them to a ring stand. It allows you to move freely up and down or rotate to fit at the exact handedness and height.
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Utility clamp
This chemistry lab equipment is used to hold various glassware onto a ring stand.
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Funnel
A funnel is common chemistry lab equipment that is used to pour solutions and substances in conical flasks and narrow-mouthed test tubes. It comes in a variety of types and the mostly used types are thistle, filter, and dropping funnels. A funnel is also used to transfer liquids. However, the operator needs to be careful during using the funnel as it can cause to add more liquid than required.
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Watch glass
The watch glass is made of concave glass and usually uses to evaporate liquids, hold solids, and heat small quantities of various substances according to the needs of the experiment. This lab equipment is also helpful in serving as a lid for the beakers.
Some chemists also use this equipment to heat a small volume of a substance. Even the watch glass frequently use to cover beakers with NaOH to prevent excessive reaction with CO2 in the environment
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Crucible tongs
This chemistry lab equipment is used to shift a hot crucible inside or atop the curve at the tong’s end. The crucible tongs can also be used to shift various hot things by touching them with the tongs.
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Glass stir bar
The glass stir bar uses to mix things that are usually contained in beakers. However, the operator needs to be extra careful to avoid scraping the glass stir bar against the beaker’s glass. Even applying excessive pressure can also break the bar very easily.
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Magnetic stir bar
This lab equipment for chemistry is used in conjunction and a stirring plate. It’s worth remembering that during stirring, the operator should avoid stirring continually hitting the side. The magnetic bar comes in a range of sizes and it’s crucial to choose the one that perfectly fits in glassware. In addition, if the stir gets stuck in the glassware, using a magnetic rod can aid remove it.
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Disposable pipet
The most common use of disposable pipet is to transfer small volumes of liquids. It is also used in a chemistry lab for qualitative analysis. Though it’s not quite an accurate method, allow counting the drops to make the small measurement.
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Wash bottle
The wash bottle used in the chemistry lab to dispense RO water.
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Pipet bulb
The pipet bulb is used on the puppet ends to aspirate liquid into the pipet. While handling the pipet built, make sure you don’t aspirate excessively to avoid reaching the liquid into the bulb which can contaminate it.
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Safety goggles
The chemist must wear safety goggles in the laboratory to protect the eyes from irritation. Otherwise, the chemical or fumes can go into the eyes and cause severe damage or even damage the eyes completely. So wearing safety goggles in the chemistry lab is a handy way to protect against the splashing of acid or chemicals and prevent getting blind.
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Centrifuge
The centrifuge is used to separate the solid from liquid, particularly that are held in the test tubes. However, the chemistry lab should have a balanced or even a number of test tubes in the centrifuge to let it work properly. It also needs to listen to the centrifuge when it is running and hearing sound means it’s running imbalanced. If so, then the operator should stop the process, reload and then retry.
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Bunsen burner
This chemistry lab equipment delivers a single open flame and usually use for sterilization and heating purposes in different types of experiments.
Final words
Laboratory equipment for chemistry can be divided into various categories based on their usage and types. However, the 22 pieces of chemistry lab equipment we’ve discussed above are the most common yet helpful for handling basic to advance reactions in the lab. So no matter whether you need equipment for your chemistry lab in school or college, opt for this equipment.