A Complete List of Chemistry Lab Equipment and their Uses

Performing experiments in the laboratory require skills and perfection, I have composed a list of 50 chemistry lab equipment and their uses in the laboratory.

This is a guide on the list of lab pieces of equipment and their uses. This is the same as saying use of apparatus used in Chemistry.

There are different duties one could carry out in the chemistry laboratory and will certainly require specific lab equipment or apparatus. As a matter of fact, in Chemistry, we often take accurate measurements of mass, time, and temperature.

Mass is measured using Balance. A top pan balance measures in kilogram, it weighs chemicals in the laboratory to two decimal places

Temperature is usually measured using a thermometer. The thermometer reading should be taken when the thermometer is inserted into the liquid. The reading in degree should be to one-tenth of a degree accuracy.

Time is measured accurately using electronic stop clocks. They measure seconds to two decimal places.

For accurate and precise measurements, a specific apparatus may be needed. Your ability to deduce the apparatus that would give you accurate measurement is invaluable.

What is Accuracy? This is the closeness of a measurement to the actual value.

What is Precision? This is the closeness of measurements to each other.

50 Chemistry Lab Apparatus and their Uses

This is the list of chemistry laboratory apparatus and their uses.

1. Evaporating dish: This is is usually made of porcelain to withstand high heat.

   Uses: used for evaporation or heating a solution to dryness or saturation point.

2. Beaker: usually made of pyrex glass but some are actually made with plastics. It is cylindrical but has a lip for easy pouring of liquids.

   Uses: used to hold solids or liquids during experiments n the laboratory.

3. Bell Jar: A cylindrical shaped apparatus made of thick glass.

    Uses: used in combustion experiments

4. Burette: a long cylindrical glass tube with a tap or stop cock.

    Uses: measures or delivers accurate volume of liquids up to 50 cm³.

5. Bunsen Burner: A metal tube with a wide metal base

   Uses: A source of heat for experiments that require heating.

6. Crucible: made of porcelain and has a matching lid. It can withstand high temperatures.

    Uses: It can withstand high temperatures and is usually used for heating substances until the     

    decompose.

7. Crucible Tongs: The apparatus is made of iron.

    Uses: This is used for holding hot crucibles.

8. Desiccators: The apparatus is made of thick glass with a lid

   Uses : used for drying and keeping dry solids.

10. Distillation Flask: This is a round bottom flask with a slanting long side arm.

   Uses : used during simple distillation for the passage of the vapours into the condenser.

11. Conical Flask: This is a glassware apparatus with needle-like mouth.

    Uses: used for holding or collecting liquids during experiments especially titration.

12. Filter Funnel: Can be made of glass or plastic with a needle–like bottom.

     Uses: used during filtration and filling the burette

13. Gauze wire: made of iron mesh with the asbestos center.

      Uses: Usually placed on tripod stand when heating to support the flask.

14. Gas Jar: Made of glass with a flat glass cover.

     Uses: used for collecting gases

15. Measuring cylinder: made of glass or plastic graduated and with a lip.

     Uses: used to measure the volume of liquids but not accurately.

16. Gas Syringe: Laboratory equipment made of glass or plastic.

     Uses: used to collect volume of gases during experiments in the laboratory.

17. Graduated Pipette: An apparatus made of glass or plastic

     Uses: used to deliver accurately small volumes of liquids.

18. Bulb Pipette: glassware with needle-like ends

     Uses: used to transfer accurately definite or specific volumes of liquids.

19. Dropping Pipette: An apparatus with a rubber teat.

  Uses: used for dropwise addition of a solution or reagent.

20. Pipette Filler: made of flexible rubber .

  Uses: it is used in filling the pipette with the solution or base.

21. Specimen tube or bottle: an apparatus made of glass or plastic.

  Uses: This is used for keeping or storing a small amount of solids.

21. Spatula: A laboratory equipment made of plastic or steel that is chisel-shaped at the end.

   Uses: it is used for transferring or putting small quantity of solids into test tubes or during

   flame tests.

22. Deflagrating spoon: This is a long stainless steel wire with a cup at the end.

  Uses: it is used in introducing small quantities of chemicals into the gas jar.

23. Retort Stand: a long cylindrical rod that can be coupled with a clamp.

   Uses: it is used to support or hold burettes upright.

24. Burette Stand: This is usually a wooden apparatus used mainly during titration.

   Uses: This is used to hold the burette uprightly and firmly during titration.

25. Test Tubes: This is a piece of apparatus made of glass sealed at one end.

  Uses: used in qualitative analysis to hold reactants.

26. Test Tube holder: This piece of apparatus could be made of wood, brass, or stainless steel.

 Uses: Commonly used to hold test tubes during experiments.

27. Thermometer: This is one of the very important chemistry lab equipment. It is made of glass with a bulb at one end.

  Uses: it is used in measuring the temperature of liquid or solution.

28. Delivery Tube: it is made of glass and can be bent into any shape.

Uses: it is used to bubble a gas over a liquid or delivery gases into gas jar.

29. Tripod stand: An apparatus made of iron with usually three legs. It could bear a triangular or circular base.

Uses: usually used to support flasks when heating in experiments.

30. Pipette stands: This is a piece of apparatus made of wood or even plastic.

     Uses: usually for keeping pipettes.

31. Capillary Tube: this is a laboratory apparatus made of tiny glass tubes with very small diameters.

   Uses: applied in the determination of the melting point of solids.

The purity of a substance is determined by melting point, boiling point, and single spot on a chromatogram(for colored substances).

Chemistry fact

32. Tile: this is an apparatus made of white plastic or tile.

  Uses: used in titration for clear and sharp observation of colour change.

33. Pneumatic Trough: This is an apparatus made of thick glass that is cylindrical, rectangular but usually rimless.

34. Stopwatch: Very accurate timing apparatus

Uses: used in timing during experiments

35. Hofmann’s Voltametter: A glassware apparatus designed perfectly for the determination of water

Uses: used in the determination of the chemical composition of water

36. Watch glass: it is circular glassware with a round or flat bottom.

   Uses: it is used for keeping solid you want to dry in air or desiccators.

37. Separating Funnel: A glassware apparatus with a short stem and stopcock.

   Uses: used in separating immiscible liquids like oil and water.

38. Thistle Funnel: a glassware apparatus with a thistle head and a long stem.

   Uses: used in experiments for intermittent addition of reagents.

39. Kipps Apparatus: A lab equipment made of thick glassware.

   Uses: used in the intermittent supply of gases

40. Buchner Funnel: the apparatus is made of porcelain and has a fixed perforated plate.

   Uses: it enables solids to be sucked dry and is also used for suction filtration.

41. Centrifuge: manual or electric operated machine.

 Uses: used in separating solid particles in a liquid.

42. Leibig Condenser: made of glass tubes fixed together with openings for water inlet and water outlet.

  Uses: it is used for cooling and condensing vapours into liquids. Usually used in distillation experiments

43. Combustion Boat/tube: usually made of aluminum and is boat-like in shape.

Uses: used in combustion experiments

44. Filter Pump: made of glass, plastic or nickel-plated brass.

 Uses: it provides a Vacuum suitable for filtration by suction.

45. Flat bottom flask: A flask with a flat bottom base that can stand on its own.

  Uses: it is used for boiling liquids in the laboratory.

46. Round bottom Flask: A flask made of glassware that has round bottom base.

  Uses: it is used for boiling liquids in the laboratory.

47. Beehive Shelf: Made of porcelain or glassware with openings for insertion.

  Uses: serves as a support for the gas jar during preparation and collection of gases over water.

48. Chromatographic jar or Tank: made of thick glass but rectangular in shape.

  Uses: used in developing thin layer chromatographic plate.

49. Cork: a wooden apparatus shaped with a matching cover.

 Uses: for supporting round bottom flasks

            Used in stoppers having one or two standard holes for connecting delivery tubes.

50. Water bath: made of metal and filled with water

 Uses: it is used in gradual boiling and heating of liquids for slow evaporation.

These are the different laboratory apparatus fused for different specific uses.        

I have also written an alternative version of this post, a tabular form of common apparatus used in chemistry,