What are the names and uses of the various kinds of laboratory apparatus used in biology?

Answer 1

Laboratory Tools and ApparatusesTools include beakers, microscopes, tweezers, hot plates, lasers, volt meters, test tubes, Erlenmeyer flasks, thermometers, test tube racks, Bunsen burners, crucibles, tripods and more.

They are used to measure, observe and gather data for experiments, as well as to safely perform reactions and to heat things. More advanced laboratory equipment includes items such as spectrometers, centrifuges and chromatographs.

Of utmost importance are these safety tools:

1. Eye wash: In case materials get into your eyes, use this to rinse them out.
2. Safety shower: In case materials get onto your clothing or body, use this to rinse them off.

Tools and their uses:

1. beaker - a liquid-measuring container
2. burette - measures volume of solution
3. clay triangle - a wire frame with porcelain used to support a crucible
4. wire gauze - used to spread heat of a burner flame
5. test tube - used as holder of small amount of solution
6. forceps - holds or pick up small objects
7. graduated cylinder - measures approximate volume of liquids
8. graduated pipette - measures solution volumes
9. condenser - used in distillation
10. crucible - used to heat a small amount of a solid substance at a very high temperature
11. funnel - used to transfer solids and liquids without spilling
12. thermometer - measures temperature
13. balance - measures mass of material
14. pH meter - measures acidity of solutions
15. centrifuge - separates materials of varying density
16. pipette - used to transfer measured substances into another vessel
17. droppers - for addition of liquids, drop by drop
18. glass funnels - for funneling liquids from one container to another, or for filtering when equipped with filter paper.
19. graduated cylinders - for measurement of an amount of liquid. The volume of liquid can be estimated to the nearest 0.1 mL with practice.
20. ring stand (with rings or clamps) - for holding pieces of glassware in place.
21. test tubes - for holding small samples or for containing small-scale reactions
22. test-tube holders - for holding test tubes when tubes should not be touched
23. tongs - similar function to forceps, but are useful for larger items
24. volumetric flasks - to measure precise volumes of liquid or to make precise dilutions.
25. wash bottles - for dispensing small quantities of distilled water.
26. watch glasses - for holding small samples or for covering beakers or evaporating dishes.
27. wire gauze on a ring - supports beakers to be heated by Bunsen burners

For more information on these tools, see the Related Questions and the Related Links.

Answer 2

Petri Dish:

A round, shallow, flat dish with a loose cover made of glass or plastic. It can be used for growing cultures (such as bacteria, animal, plant, fungal, etc) and seed germination, as well as for other applications. Petri dishes may be reused if sterilized. It is named after German bacteriologist Julius Richard Petri.

Staining Dishes:

Are used for staining in pathology, microscopy, microbiology and hematology. These dishes can be made of plastic, stainless and glass. The racks hold slides made of glass. The jars are used for actually staining the slides or as a development chamber.

Staining is a biochemical technique of adding a class-specific (DNA, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates) dye to a substrate to qualify or quantify the presence of a specific compound. It is similar to fluorescent tagging. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staining_(Biology)

Example: Gram Staining: a technique for identifying/classifying bacteria.

Glass Slides:

Used for mounting tissue/specimen for observation.

Cover Slips:

AKA Cover Slides, these are smaller sheets of glass used to cover the slide after specimen has been mounted. A cover slip flattens the object and also acts as a barrier, keeping the microscope's lens clean. Additionally, it slows the evaporation from the surface of the slide that is being examined.

Incubators:

Cell incubators are used to grow maintain cultures/organisms/objects at a fixed temperature and humidity. The application or use determines the optimal temperature to be used.

Autoclaves:

Sterilization devices that achieve sterilization via pressurization and increased temperatures, heating sterilizing solutions above boiling points in order to sterilize medical and lab instruments. Autoclaves are used in the medical field and tattoo and body piercing parlors, as well as the manufacturing industry to "cure" products during certain manufacturing processes.

The autoclave was invented by Charles Chamberland in 1879.

Test Tubes:

A cylindrical glass "tubing" that is open at the top and U-shaped at the bottom that is used to contain materials under observation. A mild rule of thumb distinction is often made between a test tube and a culture tube. The test tube has a rounded lip at the top. The culture tube has no lip. These terms continue to be used interchangeably.

When heating materials such as with a Bunsen burner, it is best to use a boiling tube as these are made to withstand the higher temperatures.

Test Tube Holders:

Are obviously made to hold a test tube (or culture tube or boiling tube). These can be made out of wood or metal racks and can hold other items such as pipettes.

Bunsen burner:

Are small gas burners used to heat materials for experiments. Its flame is adjustable at the base of the burner by controlling the amount of gas/air. The gas is controlled via valve to the gas container and the "flue" is used to control the amount of air via holes at the bottom of the burner.

Watchglass:

In short, it is a shallow, concave glass dish that can be used as a beaker cover or an evaporating surface, so named because they look like the glass on the front of the old pocket watches used by train conductors and such.

Microscope usually compound microscope.

Dissection box or dissecting instrument such as forceps, knife, needle, bone cutter etc.

Pipettes