Name______________________________ Period_________

Lab Equipment Worksheet

Students are required to learn the names and functions of various types of equipment that they may use
in Chemistry laboratory activities. This worksheet identifies the most common items and describes what
they are used for. Attached to this worksheet is a handout Common Laboratory Equipment which
shows drawings of each item.

Part I: Description of Lab Equipment

Name Function Name Function

Lab equipment which produces a
single open gas flame, which is
Bunsen burner used for heating, sterilization,
and combustion
Device used to evaporate solids
Evaporating dish and supersaturated liquids
Probably the most common
Beaker vessel for holding liquids in the
lab
Can be placed on an iron ring to
Pipestem Clay triangle provide a stage for a crucible
Used for many activities which
Test tubes requires multiple reagents or
solutions
May be attached to a ring stand
Utility clamp and be made to hold a test tube
or thermometer

Used in many lab activities as the Often attached to ring stand to

Ring stand support for another apparatus
Iron ring use as support for a beaker
May be placed in an iron ring.
tool used to crush, grind, and mix
Mortar & pestle solid substances
Funnel Used for filtration or the delivery
of liquids.
Must be worn for lab activities to Often placed over the iron ring,
Safety goggles protect the eyes.
Wire gauze to provide a stage for a beaker
used in chemistry as a surface to
May be used to hold liquids
evaporate a liquid, to hold solids
Watch glass while being weighed, or as a
Erlenmeyer flask instead of beakers, when a
smaller opening is preferred.
cover for a beaker
Used to contain liquids in test Used to handle hot beakers and
Rubber stoppers & Corks tubes and flasks
Tongs other glassware
A pipette (also called a pipet, It is used to dispense known
pipettor or chemical dropper) is a amounts of a liquid reagent in
Pipets, Micropipets &
laboratory instrument used to Buret experiments for which such
Droppers transport a measured volume of precision is necessary, such as a
liquid. titration experiment
A squeeze bottle with a nozzle,
used to rinse various pieces of
Used to measure the volume of
Wash bottle laboratory glassware, such as Graduated cylinder liquids
test tubes and round bottom
flasks.
A file is a metalworking and container which can withstand
woodworking tool used to cut high temperature and is used for
File fine amounts of material from a
Crucible & cover metal, glass, and pigment
workpiece. production
Forceps are a handheld, hinged
is a flat plate with multiple
24-well plate "wells" used as small test tubes
Forceps instrument used for grasping and
holding objects.

A spatula is used to take and The wire brush is primarily an

Spatula & Scoopula handle small quantities of solid Wire brush abrasive implement, used for
chemicals. It serves as a spoon. cleaning rust and removing paint

Test-tube rack Used to holds many test tubes. Thermometer Used to measure temperature
 Part II: Explain which piece of laboratory equipment would be most useful for each of the
following tasks:

1) Holding 50 mL of boiling water: ______ ___________________________________

2) Melting crystals to make glass:___________________________________________

3) Pouring 50 mL of acid from one container to another:________________________

4) Measuring exactly 43 mL of water: _______________________________________

5) Crushing large chunks of sodium chloride:__________________________________

6) Adding 10 drops of iodine to a solution:____________________________________

7) Suspending glassware over a Bunsen burner:________________________________

8) Removing solid iron shavings from a reagent bottle:__________________________

9) Keeping the contents of a boiling beaker from splattering:_____________________

10) Transferring a hot beaker from a hot plate to cool:___________________________

11) Notching copper shavings from a solid block:_______________________________

12) Mixing many different solutions to compare pH:_____________________________

13-17) Diagram A shows a typical setup for boiling a liquid. In the boxes provided, name the five items
used.

18-20) Diagram B shows a typical titration lab setup. In the boxed provided, name the three items
used.

Diagram A: Boiling a Liquid Diagram B: Chemical Titration

18.
13.

19.

14.

15. 20.

16.

17.
Part III: Mini-Lab. The best way to become familiar with a chemical apparatus it the actually handle
the pieces yourself in the lab. Great emphasis is placed on safety precautions that
should be observed whenever you perform an experiment or use certain apparatus.

A. Bunsen Burner Demonstration

Safety: Goggles, Flammable
Materials: Tongs, Striker/Sparker, Bunsen burner, Tubing, Copper wire
Procedure:
1. The Bunsen burner is commonly used as a source of heat in the lab. Each has a gas
inlet located in the base, vertical tubing in which the gas mixes with air, and
adjustable openings or ports in the base of the barrel. These ports admit air to the
gas stream. The burner is always turned off at the gas valve!
2. Check safetycheck all hosing for cracks or holes. Make sure safety goggles are on.
3. Adjust the air ports at the base of the barrel to be 50% open and 50% closed.
4. Turn the gas valve on (referring to a clock = 12:20 or 12:25), and immediately hold the sparker about 5cm
above the top of the burner and spark. If you have trouble lighting, turn off Bunsen burner, and contact
the teacher for assistance. (CAUTION: Improperly burning will produce the poisonous gas Carbon Monoxide)
5. There are 2 types of flame: nonluminous = blue (very little noise), or luminous = yellow. Luminous is
seldom used in the lab; it is too cool of a flame and produced soot on materials being burned due to
incomplete combustion.
6. Regulate the flame to about 8 cm above the barrel. Adjust the air ports to obtain a sharply defined inner
blue cone.
7. Using forceps and a piece of 10cm copper wire, locate the hottest portion of the flame. Do this by placing
the end of the copper wire in the gas closest to the barrel, slowly working your way up the flame.
Observe the wire.
8. Shut off the gas burner.

Answer the following questions. (If you have any questions about the Bunsen burner contact the teacher.)
What does the safety symbol represent for this portion of the lab?
What was the result of closing the ports?
o Why?
Where is the hottest portion on the nonluminous flame located?
o How did you figure this out?
Why is the nonluminous flame preferred in the chemistry lab over the luminous flame?

B. Electronic Scale & Triple Beam Balance

Materials: Unknown object, electronic scale, triple beam balance
Procedure: Weigh and record the mass in grams of the unknown object using both devices
1. Electronic Scale:
2. Triple Beam Balance:
3. Which apparatus gave you a more accurate measurement?
Why do you think so?

C. Graduated Cylinder, Beaker & Flask

Materials: Colored liquid, graduated cylinder, beaker, flask
Procedure: Record the volume in mL in each apparatus.
4. Liquid volume in graduated cylinder :
5. Liquid volume in beaker:
6. Liquid volume in flask:
7. Which apparatus gave you a more accurate measurement?
Why do you think so?
FOR TEACHER: LAB SET-UP

KEY POINT: The more accurate measurement will have more calibrations on the apparatus

2 stations of weighing devices

2 electronic scales
2 triple beam balances
2 metal objects (one per station)
Remind students to zero out electronic balance before reading measurement

2 stations for liquid measurements

2 graduated cylinders (100 ml)
2 beakers (150 ml)
2 flasks (200 ml)
One drop of food coloring in water
Have different measurements for each one
Paper towel (in case of spills)