Bunsen burners Bunsen burners are used in non-specialist labs for a variety of reasons, ranging from needing
to boil something, to needing to evaporate a substance and leave a solid behind to examine.
Microscopes Micro-scopes are also found in non-specialist labs, as they are used to see things in much
greater detail, so you can examine them or do a sketch of them to present to peers.
Burette A burette is also a piece of equipment that can be found in a non-specialist laboratory, and
they are used to do titrations so we can find out how much of one substance is needed to
neutralise the other. The burettes are fairly precise, but it all depends on the person
controlling the tap as they may not have good hand eye co-ordination, and let too much of the
substance in the burette, into the solution in the container containing the other substance/’s.
Pipette Pipettes are a piece of apparatus used in non-specific labs and they are calibrated when made,
to dispense a certain amount of medicine or liquids into a container.
Clamp A clamp is a piece of equipment in a non-specific lab, that is used to hold things in place, such
as burettes so that titrations can be done with ease, by clamping onto the burette and also the
stand so you do not need to be constantly holding the burette.
Gauze A wire gauze is used in non-specific labs, so we can heat glassware, or any other pieces of
equipment, during an experiment and not get soot onto the apparatus. Therefore, the purpose
of the gauze is to protect the equipment from becoming stained. The wire gauze is also used
so that things like crucibles can be left on top of them whilst they are being heated by the
flame underneath the gauze. The gauze is also placed on a tripod to keep the gauze away from
direct contact with the hottest part of the flame.
Fire proof mat These mats are used when apparatus that involves using a flame, such as a Bunsen burner is
used. The mat prevents any fires from spreading and stops other surfaces from catching fire, as
it is fireproof and therefore cannot catch fire.
White tiles White tiles are also used in non-specialist labs, and they are used to see reactions take place
more clearly, especially reactions that involve colour changes such as titrations, where the
substance being titrated will change colour after becoming neutralised.
Beakers Beakers are used in non-specialist labs, to transport liquid materials you need for your
experiment, around the lab and to where you need it to go.
Conical flasks Conical flasks are used to carry out chemical reactions. The reactants are mixed in the conical
to then produce the products of the reaction.
Measuring
cylinders
Measuring cylinders are used in the labs to measure out certain amounts of liquid substances,
to a certain degree of accuracy.
Buchner funnel
flasks
Buchner funnel flasks are used in the labs, and they are used to filter liquids and solids, much
quicker and more effectively, due to the low pressure that is caused by the water flowing
through the tube connected to the flask.
Fume hood Fume hoods are used in the labs to remove and toxic and hazardous chemicals from the
environment, to prevent people from being affected by the chemicals.
Glass slides for
microscopes
Glass slides are used in labs, by placing a specimen on them, staining them (if needed), placing
a cove slip over them and then placing under the microscope so we can examine the specimen
in much more detail.
Test tubes Test tubes are used in labs to carry out chemical reactions. The test tubes are placed in a test
tube rack, where the chemicals are added so the reaction can take place. They can also be
used to store small amount of chemical substances.
Pestle and
mortar
The pestle and mortar are also found in the non-specialist labs, and they are used to crush the
chemicals into a fine powder, or how crushed the experiment/reaction requires it to be.
Crucible Crucibles are used in the labs to heat substances to extremely high temperatures.
n/a. (n/a). What is the purpose of wire gauze? Available:
https://www.reference.com/science/purpose-wire-gauze-2f0eabed76295f09 . Last accessed
24/03/2017
n/a. (May 28, 2014). Stand, Boss and Clamp. Available:
http://www.austincc.edu/chemlab/chem/chem-Basic-2.html . Last accessed 27/02/2017.
Specialist lab equipment
Specialist
equipment
The uses of the equipment found in a specialist lab
Desiccator A desiccator is a piece of specialist lab equipment that is used to absorb water from certain
re-agents that are able to absorb water. This is done because when measuring out how
much of the reagent is present, the water that is present can give a wrong reading, and
therefore the desiccator helps to reduce this error by removing the water from the
chemical, so essentially, the desiccator is used to dry chemical substances. The most
common type of desiccator consists of two sections. The lower section is where the drying
agents are placed, and the re-agents on the upper section. This therefore allows the drying
agents to absorb and water vapour before the re-agent does.
Centrifuge Centrifuges are pieces of equipment that re found in specialist labs and they are used for
separating liquid, solid and sometimes gaseous substances. The components of the
specimen added to the centrifuge, in a vessel, are separated by being spun around rapidly.
This therefore causes the heavier substances to be pushed to the outside of the vessel
containing the specimen.
Electrophoresis Electrophoresis is another separation techniques that is used in specialist laboratories.
Electrophoresis is based on the movement of ions to the negatively or positively charged
electrodes.
Electron
microscopes
Electron microscopes are also a part of specialist lab equipment. The electron microscope is
a much more powerful microscope than the microscopes that are found in non-specialist
laboratories. This is because, hence the name, the microscope uses electron beams instead
of a light source, and an electron lens, which therefore allows the user to see specimens at
a much higher quality and also allow the user to see much smaller components in much
more detail.
Autoclaves Autoclaves are large steel cylinders, in which gases are circulated, such as steam to sterilise
any equipment that has been put into the autoclave, or other chemical gases for
experiments. When the chamber of the autoclave has been shut, the air in the autoclave is
all removed by a vacuum to make it airtight. Then, for a sterilization process, steam is
pumped into the autoclave at a much higher pressure than the normal atmospheres
pressure, and this causes the pressure inside the autoclave to increase. Then, when the
desired temperature is reached, the autoclaves internal thermostat starts a timer for a set
amount of time, before the autoclave opens, indicating the equipment added, has been
sterilised. Although the autoclaves are used mainly for sterilising the equipment. It can also
be used to produce things such as nylon and polyethylene.
Microbiological
Incubator
Microbiological incubators are used in microbiology labs to obtain the optimum conditions
for the growth of bacteria of other living organisms. However, the incubator could also be
to prevent the bacteria/microbe from growing too rapidly and prevent any serious
outbreaks.
Colony counter Colony counters are used in biological procedures, where it is required to know roughly
how many colonies there are present. The colony counters estimate the density of micro-
organisms in the liquid culture by counting how many cultures are present on the specimen
they have.
Sonicator The main function of the Sonicator is to break down substances into smaller part, so they
can be examined further. The Sonicator can also detect DNA, so this means that the
Sonicator can break down cells and allow the DNA to be obtained and used for further
examination.
First of all, to my laboratory, I would add one more fire extinguisher, but in this case, it
would be a C02 extinguisher. This is because, for the laboratory one fire extinguisher would
normally be enough, but it would be beneficial and safe to have a spare. Also, the
extinguisher in the lab is a water extinguisher, and therefore cannot be used for electrical
fires, so a CO2 extinguisher will be needed. This will be really effective, in the case of a fire,
especially and electrical fire as the CO2 will suffocate the flame and cause it to be put out. It
is also efficient as the water extinguisher may not be suitable for putting out the flame, for
instance a fire caused by an electrical component. It is also much safer, as you will have a
spare fire extinguisher in case the one isn’t enough.
To my lab, I would also add another fire exit. This is because the lab only has one fire exit
and if it was to become blocked off, the people would have no way of exiting the lab.
Therefore, I think it is necessary that the lab has another fire exit added to it. This is much
safer than only having one fire exit as not only does it prevent people from getting trapped
in the lab, but it also allows the people to exit the laboratory much quicker, so therefore it is
much safer and also efficient. It is also effective as by adding the door we reduce the risk of
people becoming injured, and also the people will have two exits to choose from reducing
any congestion that could potentially take place.
I would also add a microbiological incubator to my lab. Microbiological incubators are used
in microbiology labs to obtain the optimum conditions for the growth of bacteria of other
living organisms. However, the incubator could also be to prevent the bacteria/microbe
from growing too rapidly and prevent any serious outbreaks. This is therefore effective as it
will allow us to control how quickly cultures can multiply and grow. This is also efficient as
we ca get our cultures to grow much quicker in a shorter amount of time, by changing the
conditions inside the incubator, and we will therefore save time by getting the culture
needed much quicker. This also increases safety for the people inside the lab as the cultures
will be controlled.
Also, I would add an autoclave to my laboratory so we can not only sterilise but also carry
out any experiments we need to inside it. Autoclaves are large steel cylinders, in which
gases are circulated, such as steam to sterilise any equipment that has been put into the
autoclave, or other chemical gases for experiments. When the chamber of the autoclave has
been shut, the air in the autoclave is all removed by a vacuum to make it airtight. Then, for a
sterilization process, steam is pumped into the autoclave at a much higher pressure than
the normal atmospheres pressure, and this causes the pressure inside the autoclave to
increase. Then, when the desired temperature is reached, the autoclaves internal
thermostat starts a timer for a set amount of time, before the autoclave opens, indicating
the equipment added, has been sterilised. Although the autoclaves are used mainly for
sterilising the equipment. This is really effective as the apparatus that is placed in the
autoclave for sterilisation will be sterilised to a high standard and no traces of any other
substances will be left. This is needed, especially in a microbiology lab due to the fact we do
not want to get cultures mixed by accident, and this also makes the laboratory much safer for the people working inside the lab, as the apparatus is sterile. The autoclaves are also
really efficient as they can sterilise the apparatus fairly quickly and also to a high standard.
I would further add a centrifuge to my lab as in microbiological labs we may need to
separate certain products from a mixture of products, for example blood. Centrifuges are
pieces of equipment that re found in specialist labs and they are used for separating liquid,
solid and sometimes gaseous substances. The components of the specimen added to the
centrifuge, in a vessel, are separated by being spun around rapidly. This therefore causes
the heavier substances to be pushed to the outside of the vessel containing the specimen.
This is really effective as the centrifuge can separate the substances from each other and we
can obtain the parts of the specimen we want. This is also much more efficient than other
techniques, as the centrifuge spins rapidly and will have the specimens ready within
minutes.
I would also add some fume hoods to my lab. Fume hoods are used in the labs to remove
and toxic and hazardous chemicals from the environment, to prevent people from being
affected by the chemicals. This is a vital part of any chemical or biological based laboratory
as when toxic or any harmful chemicals are being handled, they should be used inside of the
fume hood to prevent the person handling them from coming to any harm. This is really
effective as the fume hood removes the harmful chemicals from the surroundings and
protects the people in the lab from being affected by them, which also makes the lab a
much safer environment. It is also very efficient, as when turned on the fume hood quickly
removes the chemical substances from the environment they are being handled in.
I would also add a shower to my lab as the showers will remove and micro-organisms or
hazardous chemicals that may be stuck on the person’s body. The showers are really
effective as they will remove any micro-organisms from the person’s body and therefore
prevent it from escaping the laboratory and multiplying to cause an outbreak of disease or
illness. They are also efficient as the showers will kill or remove the micro-organisms within
minutes, whereas if it was to escape it would take a lot of time and also money to get rid of
it. This is also a safety precaution to protect the people working inside the lab from the
micro-organisms.