Top 20 Laboratory Equipment
We know you’re searching for basic lab equipment you can buy either for your practice with your wards/children at home or school so we have numbered the highest in demand first 20 common lab apparatus for all levels of science experimentations
Here they are:
1. Microscope: Monocular, Binocular or etcetera
A microscope is a very basic and needful equipment of biology laboratory. A simple light microscope (compound microscope) is the one, which is mostly used in schools and colleges and it uses natural light and a series of magnifying lenses to observe a tiny specimen. Below is the schematic diagram of a compound microscope with details of its parts:
2. Test tubes:
The next very common apparatus are the test tubes. They are usually cylindrical pipes made up of glass, with a circular opening on one side and a rounded bottom on the other side. They come in different sizes but the most common standard size is 18*150 mm. Test tubes are one of the most important apparatus as they are functional from storing to mixing reagents in any chemical or biological reactions.
3. Beakers:
Beakers are another cylindrical utensil made up of glass or plastic with a flat bottom and the upper opening having a spout. They are of varying sizes and are used to hold, heat, or mix substances with the proper measure. The plastic ones cannot be used for heating.
4. Magnifying glass or lens:
A magnifying glass is one of the first introduced lab equipment among the students. As the name suggests, it is used to view enlarged or magnified images of objects or read the small calibrations marked on many equipment. It has a convex lens for object enlargement and usually has a wooden handle to hold it. There are also concave lenses.
5. Volumetric flask:
This is one of the most important equipment of any lab, which is made up of glass and is calibrated to hold a precise volume of liquids at any precise temperature. Different sizes of volumetric flasks are available, each calibrated for exact measurement of liquids and solutions. In chemistry labs, it is mostly used in the preparation of standard solutions.
6. Bunsen burner:
This apparatus produces a single open flame and it is used for heating and sterilization purposes in the various experiments conducted in labs.
7. Dropper
The dropper, also known as Pasteur pipette, is a common small apparatus, usually made up of plastic or glass cylinder, having a small nozzle on one side and a rubber holder on the other. It is used to put the liquids or solutions in any medium dropwise, that is, one drop at a time, a piece of necessary equipment when any reagent is required in an extremely small amount in a solution.
8. Thermometer:
Every lab is equipped with a basic thermometer as many times, certain chemical or biological reactions can be carried out in any particular temperature range only and so to proceed, the thermometer becomes very necessary to measure the temperature of the required solution before moving forward with further reaction procedure. There are different brands of thermometers for different uses but the most common ranges are 0 – 100 and 0 – 360 degrees centigrade.
9. Tongs:
Tongs, though not much in use, are common and basic apparatus in any lab. They are used to grasp and lift hot vessels and harmful substances during any kind of reaction taking place in the lab.
10. Brushes:
Brushes serve as the cleansing apparatus of the test tubes, as they are the only things that can get fit into the narrow-mouthed test tubes and other cylindrical and narrow objects.
11. Weighing machines:
When we perform experiments in the laboratories, we deal with very small quantities of reagents usually in the units of micro or mini grams. With a general physical balance, it is tough to get the desired and exact amounts of the reagents and so these weighing machines come in the picture. These machines help in measuring very small units of substances in terms of weight.
12. Wash Bottles:
The wash bottles comes in our top 20 laboratory equipment. It is used for cleansing and sterilization purposes. These bottles are made up of plastic, which serves as a squeezy container with a long nozzle. They mostly contain distilled water, ethanol or deionized water.
13. Spatula:
These laboratory spatulas are very much similar to the kitchen like spatulas found in our home but they are just very smaller in size in comparison. The spatulas are usually resistant to heat and acids, hence making them suitable for large range use in the laboratory experiments.
14. Spring balance:
Spring balance also referred to as Newton meter, is another instrument helpful in measuring the weight of an object. This apparatus consists of a spring and a hook and it works on the principle of Hooke’s law, according to which, the force applied to an object is directly proportional to the extension, provided that the elastic limit is not reached.
15. Burette:
Burette definitely makes the list of our Top 20 Laboratory Equipment. It is used in titration reactions, and is handful in delivering a known volume of any substance to other equipment. This apparatus is a long-graduated tube, with a stopcock or pinchcock present at the lower end. It usually comes in the sizes of 10ml, 25ml or 50ml.
16. Watch glass:
This apparatus is more commonly found in chemistry laboratories and is made up of a concave piece of glass. It is normally used to hold solids, evaporate liquids, and heat small quantities of different substances as per the need of the experiment.
17. Funnels:
Funnels are necessary equipment to pour substances and solutions in narrow-mouthed test tubes and conical flasks. There is variety of its available, most common ones are filter, thistle, and dropping funnels. This comes in plastic too and that with different sizes.
18. Ammeter:
Ammeter is important lab apparatus used to measure the amount of current flowing; very popular equipment presents in physics labs. It is also very handful during electrolysis reactions. Also in high demand alongside the ammeter are voltmeter and galvanometer.
19. Crucible:
Crucibles are made up of porcelain and are used to store and heat substances when required to be heated at high temperatures since glassware are not always suitable for such high heat involving experiments. They come in different sizes and always have covers
20. Litmus and filter papers:
These two cannot be called apparatus in a proper way, but they serve as one of the most important and basic things that will be required in any kind of laboratories. The litmus paper serves to identify the pH of any solution by changing colors whereas, the filter paper serves in the filtration process.
Overall, we can call them the basic or common laboratory apparatus we use in a school physics, chemistry, biology, and composite lab and it varies more or less depending on the type of laboratory a person is working in.
You may also Physics, Biology and Chemistry Top 20 Laboratory Equipment: Here
We are a laboratory equipment supplier distributing laboratory supplies across Nigeria and Internationally. To order for any lab chemical, glass wares, equipment, lab consumables, click here
No products in the cart.