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Chemistry vocabulary · Laboratory Equipment and Techniques

Beaker

Meaning in chemistry, with examples

/ˈbiːkə/nounCore term

In chemistry, beaker means: A simple cylindrical glass or plastic container with a flat bottom and a small spout, used for mixing, heating and holding liquids. Its volume marks are only approximate.

In Turkish: beher, beherglas

How it is used

Used every day in teaching and research labs. You pour into, stir in, heat or rinse a beaker. It is not for accurate measuring: use a graduated cylinder, pipette or volumetric flask for that.

Example sentences

  1. Dissolve the solid in about 50 mL of water in a 100 mL beaker.

  2. Don't use the beaker markings to measure volumes for your titration.

Common collocations

  • glass beaker
  • 250 mL beaker
  • pour into a beaker
  • rinse the beaker
  • Erlenmeyer flaskA glass flask with a flat bottom, a cone-shaped body and a narrow neck. Its shape lets you swirl liquids without spilling, so it is the standard flask for titrations.
  • graduated cylinderA tall, narrow cylinder with volume markings on its side, used to measure liquids more accurately than a beaker but less accurately than a pipette or burette.
  • volumetric flaskA pear-shaped flask with a long narrow neck and a single line marked on it. Filled to that line, it holds one exact volume, so it is used to prepare standard solutions.
  • pipetteA thin glass or plastic tube used to measure and transfer a precise volume of liquid. Volumetric types deliver one fixed volume; micropipettes handle microliters.

More terms: Laboratory Equipment and Techniques

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