Know Your Lab Equipments and Microscope Parts (Vocabulary Flashcards)

Vocabulary flashcards covering common laboratory equipment and microscope parts with concise definitions.

Test tube

A finger-length glass or clear plastic tube, open at the top and closed at the bottom, used to hold, mix, or heat small quantities of liquid.

Beaker

A wide-mouthed container used for holding liquids; often has rough volume markings that are not highly accurate.

Erlenmeyer flask

A conical flask used as a reaction vessel; volume markings are not considered highly accurate.

Volumetric flask

A glass flask calibrated to contain a precise volume; used to prepare solutions with high accuracy.

Graduated cylinder

A tall, narrow glass or plastic cylinder with graduations for measuring liquid volumes with moderate accuracy.

Pipette

A device used for transferring a specific volume of liquid with high accuracy.

Graduated pipette

A pipette calibrated to deliver a specific, known quantity of liquid.

Disposable pipette

A plastic pipette used for transferring small amounts of liquid dropwise.

Burette

A long, graduated glass tube with a stopcock used to measure and deliver variable volumes of liquid, especially in titrations.

Burette clamp

A clamp (often double) used to hold and secure a burette on a stand; made from materials like plastic or cast iron and sometimes rubber knobs.

Funnel

A wide-topped tube used to guide liquids or powders into a small opening.

Buchner funnel

A porcelain (or glass/plastic) funnel with a fritted disc used for vacuum filtration.

Vacuum filtration setup

A filtration method that uses suction beneath the filter to separate solids from liquids.

Clamp

A device used to hold and secure glassware on a stand or other apparatus.

Test tube brush

A brush used to clean test tubes and narrow-neck glassware.

Test tube holder

A clamp or tool used to hold a test tube, especially when hot.

Test tube stand

A rack used to hold multiple test tubes upright at the same time.

Bunsen burner

A small adjustable gas burner used as a heat source in the lab.

Petri dish

A shallow cylindrical dish used for culturing samples and storing small amounts of material.

Glass rod

A solid glass stirring rod used to mix chemicals and liquids.

Graduated dropper

A tool (dropper or Pasteur pipette) for transferring small quantities of liquid dropwise.

Tongs

A tool used to grip and lift hot or hazardous objects instead of using hands.

Utility clamp

A clamp resembling scissors used to hold and adjust laboratory glassware on a stand.

Spot test plate

A small plate (often ceramic) used for carrying out spot tests and reactions.

Tripod for Bunsen burner

A three-legged stand used to support flasks and beakers over a flame.

Wash bottle

A squeeze bottle with a nozzle used to rinse glassware; usually screw-top lid.

Wire mesh gauze (ceramic centre)

A mesh used to distribute flame heat evenly under heated vessels; sometimes has a ceramic core.

Spatula

A small stainless steel utensil used to scrape, transfer, or apply powders and pastes.

Round-bottom flask

A spherical-bottom flask used for heating and chemical reactions.

Glass condenser

An apparatus used to condense vapors into a liquid during heating processes.

Filter paper

A semi-permeable paper used to separate solids from liquids in filtration.

Separatory funnel

A funnel used in liquid-liquid extractions to separate immiscible solvent layers by density.

Filtering flask

A flask used in filtration with a filter funnel to separate solids from liquids.

Watch glass

A circular concave glass piece used to evaporate small amounts, weigh solids, or cover beakers.

Fusion tube

A thin-walled glass tube used similarly to boiling tubes but designed to be opened to a water container after use.

Mortar and pestle

A set used to crush and grind substances into a powder or paste.

Reagent bottle

Glass or plastic bottles with caps used to store chemicals in the lab.

Litmus and pH paper

Chemical indicators that change color to indicate acidity (red in acids) or basicity (blue in bases).

Sample containers

Leak-proof, airtight containers used to store chemical solids or samples for transport.

Desiccator

A sealable enclosure containing desiccant to keep substances dry and protect moisture-sensitive chemicals.

Crucible

A ceramic or metal container used to melt substances at high temperatures.

Kipp’s apparatus

A device to generate gas (often hydrogen sulfide) from a reaction without heating.

Mechanical shaker

Equipment that mixes or agitates substances by shaking the contained vessel.

Digital balance

A highly sensitive scale capable of weighing to the milligram, used with care and proper handling.

Magnetic stirrer

A device that uses a rotating magnet or electromagnet to stir liquids with a stir bar.

Water bath

A heated container of water used to incubate samples at a constant temperature.

Vacuum pump

A device that evacuates gases or vapors, including corrosive or reactive ones.

Digital colorimeter

An instrument that measures color intensity, transmittance, or absorbance in liquids.

Digital conductometer

A meter that measures electrical conductivity of solutions.

Digital pH meter

An instrument that measures the hydrogen ion activity (pH) of solutions.

Digital potentiometer

A precision instrument for measuring voltage by comparison with a known reference.

Eyepiece (ocular lens)

The lens at the top of the microscope through which the eye views the specimen.

Monocular head

A microscope head with a single eyepiece (or simple head) supporting optics.

Binocular head

A microscope head that uses two eyepieces for stereo or compound viewing.

Arm

Supports the microscope head and attaches it to the base.

Nosepiece (revolving turret)

Rotating part that holds objective lenses and allows switching between them.

Base

The bottom support of the microscope and houses illumination components.

Objective lenses

Lenses closest to the specimen providing most of the magnification (commonly 4x, 10x, 40x, 100x).

Specimen or slide

The object being observed, placed on a glass slide.

Stage or platform

The flat area on which the slide is placed for observation.

Stage clips/mechanical stage

Clips or a movable stage that hold the slide in place for viewing.

Aperture (iris diaphragm)

A adjustable opening that controls the amount of light reaching the specimen.

Abbe condenser

A lens assembly under the stage that focuses light onto the specimen.

Coarse adjustment

A knob used for rough focusing, moving the stage or tube quickly.

Fine adjustment

A knob used for precise, small focus adjustments.

Stage height adjustment

Controls vertical and horizontal position of the mechanical stage.

Mirror

Reflects external light into the microscope base (older models rely on mirrors).

Illumination

The light source used to illuminate the specimen.

Bottom lens / Field diaphragm

Controls the amount of light passing through the stage from below.

Diopter adjustment

Adjustment to correct for vision differences between eyes in two eyepieces.

Tube (body tube)

The optical tube that connects the eyepiece to the objective lenses.

Revolving nosepiece / turret

Rotating part that holds multiple objective lenses for quick changes.

Rack stop

A limiter to prevent the objective lenses from touching the slide.

Power switch / On-off switch

Control that turns the microscope’s illumination on or off.

Light switch

Switch that controls the light source for viewing.

Condenser

Lens system that concentrates light onto the specimen to improve resolution.

Diaphragm

A control that alters the amount of light reaching the specimen.

Stage clips

Clips that hold the slide securely on the stage.