Lab Equipment (Burettes and pipettes) – Making Science More Fun

Contrary to what many people believe, especially those who haven’t been in close association with it, science is a lot of fun. The most important thing that Science has taught us is that everything that happens has a logical explanation to it.

In order to make us understand things better, laboratories and lab equipment have played a crucial role.

Burette and pipette

Burette and pipette are lab equipment used in the volumetric analysis of an analyte. Burette is a glass tube having a tap at the bottom. Pipette is also a glass tube that has a bulge in the middle. They both have gradations to measure the quantity of chemical substances. While burette is used to deliver a chemical solution with a known concentration into a flask, pipette is used to measure the quantity of the analyte- the chemical substrate whose concentration is to be determined.

What are they used for?

They are both used for Titration.

Titration

Titration or Titrometry is a common laboratory procedure used in the quantitative analysis of an analyte (a chemical substrate) which is usually an acid in acid base titration.

Titrant- The solution with the known concentration is called the titrant. The burette contains the titrant which is slowly delivered into the analyte present in the conical flask.

Titrand-The chemical substrate with unknown concentration is called titrand. The titrand is present in the flask.

End Point/ Equivalence Point-End point or equivalence point is the point at which there is complete neutralization of eth acid with the base. To measure the end point different indicators are used that change color. The change in color is referred to as the end point.

After filling the burette up till a certain mark, and placing a flask underneath that contains the analyte (the quantity of which is measured with a pipette), indicator is added to the solution present in the flask to measure the end point. In acid base titration, the end point is determined with the help of an indicator solution or Ph paper. A titration curve is plotted, and the concentration of the titrand is determined.

Who says science is boring, you just need to devote some time to realize how fascinating it can be.
In Marie Curie’s own words “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”