Chemistry Lab Reviewer: Apparatus, Safety & Chemical Hazards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering laboratory apparatus functions, safety practices, emergency equipment, and chemical hazard concepts from the chemistry laboratory reviewer.

Acid burette

A calibrated glass tube that precisely measures and dispenses liquids, specifically acids.

Alkali/Base burette

A calibrated tube that dispenses and measures chemical solutions; used with base titrants in titrations of acidic analytes.

Digital balance

An electronic device that measures mass down to the milligram level.

Graduated cylinder

A narrow, flat-bottomed cylinder with side graduations that accurately measures liquid volume.

Pipette

A long, slender, graduated glass stem used to measure and transfer small amounts of liquid.

Syringe

An apparatus with a graduated barrel, plunger, and needle that transfers precise liquid volumes or withdraws samples from solid-liquid mixtures.

Thermometer

A glass stem and bulb containing colored alcohol used to measure temperature changes, melting points, and boiling points.

Volumetric flask

A pear-shaped, flat-bottomed flask with a narrow, elongated neck designed to prepare standardized solutions.

Beaker

A cylindrical container, usually made of borosilicate glass, used to hold solids and liquids and to mix solutions.

Crucible

A ceramic or metallic container used for heating substances to very high temperatures.

Desiccator

A sealed glass container that maintains low humidity to protect moisture-sensitive substances and dry samples.

Erlenmeyer flask

A flat-bottomed, conical vessel with a narrow neck used to swirl, store, heat, and mix solutions without spillage.

Evaporating dish

A container used to evaporate surplus solvent (often water) to leave behind a concentrated solution or solid precipitate.

Florence flask

A vessel with a round body, long neck, and flat bottom used to boil liquids, carry out reactions, and store solutions.

Petri dish

A shallow, transparent, lidded dish used for culturing microorganisms.

Reagent bottle

A vessel used to store solid and liquid chemicals safely; amber-tinted versions protect light-sensitive compounds.

Suction flask

A flask resembling an Erlenmeyer flask that features a short side arm for connection to vacuum sources.

Test tube

A slender cylinder with a rounded bottom and open top used for small-scale reactions, mixing, and heating liquids.

Water bath

A water-filled, heatable container that holds a specific temperature, such as for incubating microorganisms.

Watch glass

A small, shallow, concave dish used for gentle evaporation, weighing solids, covering beakers or flasks, and observing materials.

Alcohol lamp

A burner that generates an exposed flame; also referred to as an alcohol burner or spirit lamp.

Bunsen burner

A fundamental laboratory flame source used for various heating needs.

Clay flame shield

A heat-resistant stable platform for crucibles and beakers over a Bunsen burner that also deflects air currents disrupting the flame.

Clay triangle

A triangular support set on a flame shield or ring that allows an open flame to touch a container directly for efficient heating.

Tripod

A three-legged lightweight metal stand that provides a stable platform during heating.

Wire gauze

A mat of interwoven metal wires featuring a ceramic center that distributes heat to glassware to prevent overheating and breakage.

Burette clamp

A metal clamping tool with two rubber-insert jaws used to hold and secure a burette.

Crucible tong

A tool with a long handle and angled jaws designed to handle hot crucibles, evaporating dishes, and small beakers.

Iron ring

A circular metal support attached to an iron stand to hold glassware during experiments.

Iron stand

A upright metal rod on a heavy base that supports an iron ring or clamps for heating and holding glassware.

Test tube holder

Spring-loaded tongs with end clips used to grip test tubes securely, especially while heating.

Test tube rack

A wooden, plastic, or metal stand with holes or slots that holds and organizes multiple test tubes.

Utility clamp

A clamp that secures glassware to an apparatus stand using an adjustable claw that sets angle and height to prevent tipping.

Adapter

A component linking ground glass joint glassware that connects to vacuum sources or aspirators and directs liquid from a condenser to a receiving flask.

Centrifuge

A machine that uses centrifugal force to separate mixtures by density, isolate nanoparticles, precipitate products, and separate emulsions.

Condenser

A glass cooling apparatus that converts heated vapors into liquids by condensation during distillation.

Distilling flask

A round-bottom borosilicate flask with a side arm (stem) connecting to a condenser, used to separate liquids with different boiling points.

Filter paper

A semi-permeable cellulose barrier that allows liquids to pass through while retaining solid particles.

Funnel

A cone-shaped piece of equipment, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used to guide liquids or powders between containers and support filter paper in gravity filtration.

Separatory funnel

Pear-shaped glassware featuring a hemispherical bottom used for liquid-liquid extraction of two immiscible solvent phases of differing densities.

Aspirator

A rubber bulb accessory used to draw liquids safely into pipettes.

Dropper

A glass or plastic tube with a bulb used to transfer small volumes of liquid dropwise.

Fume hood

A ventilated enclosure equipped with a fan that draws air through a front opening to capture airborne contaminants and discharge them through an exhaust.

Glass/stirring rod

A slender solid glass cylinder used to mix liquids or solids and to guide liquid flow during transfers.

Glass tubing

A hollow glass cylinder utilized for capillary tubes, handling chemical flow, and conducting certain specialized reactions.

Litmus paper

A paper strip treated with litmus dye that changes color based on pH to indicate whether a solution is acidic or basic.

Mortar

A bowl-shaped, heavy vessel providing a stable base for grinding and crushing substances into powder or paste.

Pestle

A club-shaped handheld tool used for pounding, crushing, and grinding substances inside a mortar.

Test tube brush

A cleaning tool consisting of a cylindrical brush head attached to a long, thin wire handle, designed for test tubes and narrow glassware.

Wash bottle

A squeezable plastic bottle with a long, narrow nozzle used to dispense streams of water for rinsing glassware.

RAMP

A four-step laboratory safety framework representing: Recognize hazards, Assess the risk of hazards, Minimize the risk of hazards, and Prepare for emergencies.

PPE

Personal Protective Equipment; essential lab safety gear including a laboratory gown, safety goggles, mask, closed-toe shoes, and gloves.

Wafting

The safe practice of waving vapors gently toward the nose with a hand rather than directly sniffing a chemical.

Safety shower

An emergency installation that washes a person's head and body following contact with hazardous chemicals, smothers clothing fires, or rinses contaminants.

Eyewash fountain

An emergency safety fixture that flushes the eyes with water when exposed to dust, irritants, or hazardous chemicals.

First aid box

A stocked cabinet in the laboratory dedicated to providing supplies for treating minor injuries.

Hazard

A potential source of danger or harm.

Risk

A metric combining the likelihood of an unfavorable event, the severity of its consequences, and the frequency of exposure to a hazard.

Toxicity

The capacity of a substance to cause harm to a living organism, influenced by the route of entry, dose, duration, and physical state.

Dose

The specific amount of a toxic chemical received by an organism on a single occasion.

Acute exposure

Contact with a toxic substance involving one or more doses delivered within a 24-hour period.

Chronic exposure

Recurrent, often minimal exposures to a chemical substance sustained over months or years.

Flammability

The property describing how readily a material catches fire, how vigorously it burns and emits heat, its fire-spreading potential, and its rate of smoke production.

Corrosivity

The capacity of a chemical to cause gradual deterioration of metals or irreversible damage to living tissue (such as skin and eyes) upon direct contact.

Reactivity

The capacity of chemical substances to undergo chemical interactions with other materials and transform into new substances.

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)

Informational documents outlining the specific hazards of a chemical substance along with recommended handling precautions to prevent harm.