Speaker 1: Chemistry Tools and Equipment Before we begin with the principles of chemistry, let us review what kind of glassware and equipment we use to study this broad subject. Safety Gear One of the major things we often ignore is wearing a safety gear. This includes goggles, a pair of latex gloves and a lab coat. This not only makes you look cool and makes you feel like a responsible scientist, but also protects you from all kinds of chemicals you may be coming into contact with, knowingly and unknowingly. Electronic Balance Used for measuring mass of a substance or chemical, usually consists of a pan on which you can place the substance you want to measure. This generates current proportional to the displacement of the pan due to the pull of gravity, which then translates into the displayed reading. The electronic balance is a simple, yet one of the most important equipment that should be present in any laboratory. Ring Stand Used as support to clamp laboratory glassware and other equipment in place so it does not fall down or come apart. Ring Clamp Used with a ring stand to hold glassware such as a beaker or a funnel. Wire Gauze May have a fiberglass or ceramic center. Used to support a container such as a beaker on a ring stand while it is being heated. Bunsen Burner Be careful not to put flammable materials like a cloth or chemicals like aromatic compounds such as petrol anywhere near it or this may erupt a fire. Beaker A beaker is glass apparatus used to hold, mix and heat liquids. Beaker Tongs Metallic and looks like a scissors' older sibling. Beaker Tongs is used to handle beakers. Crucible A ceramic pot used for holding chemicals during heating at very high temperatures. Clay Triangle A metallic triangle used to support a crucible during heating. Crucible Tongs Used to hold crucibles. Evaporating Dish A wide ceramic dish used to heat liquids for evaporation. Utility Clamp A metallic clamp used to secure glassware to a ring stand. Burette A long glass graduated tube with a tap around it. A burette is used for dispensing an accurate volume of a liquid and measuring its discharge. Conical Flask Also known as the Erlenmeyer flask is a glassware that has a narrow neck that expands towards its base. It is used to hold and mix chemicals. The small neck is to facilitate mixing without spilling. Test Tube A glass tube with a round base used to hold and mix liquids. Needs a steel rack or a clamp to hold it. Pipette Bulb A round rubber bulb used to draw liquids into a pipe. Forceps Used to pick up or hold small objects. Mortar and Pestle Used to crush and grind materials. You may have seen something similar in your kitchen. Scoopula Used to transfer solids. Looks similar to a spoon. Stirring Rod Used for stirring and mixing and is usually made of glass. Funnel It is used to transfer liquids or fine-grained materials into containers with small openings. Also used for filtration. Volumetric Flask A volumetric flask is a round flask with a long neck and a flat bottom. It is used to prepare solutions to an accurate volume. There is a small line on the neck that indicates how far to fill the bottle. They come with special caps to prevent contamination and leaks. Volumetric Pipette This comprises of a graduated glass tube that is used to measure an exact volume of liquid. Be sure to use pipetting aids for precision mixing. Graduated Cylinder Used to measure a precise volume of a liquid. Wash Bottle Used to rinse pieces of glassware and to add small quantities of water. Do you know where some of these tools originated from? Find out in our video titled A Brief History of Chemistry.