ENGCHEM 101 Page 1 OF 10
Activity No. 2
COMMON LABORATORY TECHNIQUES AND APPARATUSES
I. COMMON LABORATORY TECHNIQUES
The Common Laboratory Techniques describe procedures for safety conducting
an experiment. Be sure to read each technique carefully before the laboratory session
for completing a safe and successful experiment.
A. Handling Liquid Chemicals
1. Opening a Reagent Bottle.
Grasp the reagent bottle with one hand and using the other hand, hold the
glass stopper between fingers and lift (Fig.A.1a). Never lay the stopper from a
reagent bottle on the laboratory bench. Impurities may be picked up and thus
contaminate the solution when the stopper is returned to the reagent bottle. Flat
top glass stopper should be laid upside down on the laboratory bench.
Fig.A.1. Removing a glass stopper from a reagent bottle.
2. Transferring Liquids to Another Container.
To transfer a liquid from one container to another, hold a stirring rod
against the lip of the container holding the liquid and pour it down the rod which
should touch the inside wall of the receiving vessel (Fig.A.2). Try not to transfer
more reagent than is needed, and do not return unused chemicals to the reagent
bottle.
