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Chemistry vocabulary · Laboratory Equipment and Techniques

Volumetric flask

Meaning in chemistry, with examples

nounCommon term

In chemistry, volumetric flask means: A 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.

In Turkish: balon joje, ölçü balonu

How it is used

Used in analytical work. You dissolve the solid, 'make up to the mark' with solvent, then stopper the flask and invert it to mix. It is never heated, because heat changes its calibrated volume.

Example sentences

  1. Transfer the solution to a 250 mL volumetric flask and make up to the mark with water.

  2. Don't heat the volumetric flask; dissolve the solid in a beaker first.

Common collocations

  • make up to the mark
  • 250 mL volumetric flask
  • stopper the flask
  • Class A volumetric flask
  • standard solutionA solution whose concentration is known accurately. It is used to find the concentration of other solutions in titrations or to build calibration curves.
  • 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.
  • diluteTo make a solution weaker by adding more solvent, usually water. As an adjective, the word describes a solution with a low concentration.
  • beakerA 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.
  • 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.

More terms: Laboratory Equipment and Techniques

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