 Welcome to Science Lab Equipment. Part 1. Equipment used for containing and dispensing chemicals. Each piece of lab equipment is designed to do a different job. Some, like the beaker shown to the right, are used mostly to hold liquids. And others, such as the spatula, are useful for transferring small amounts of solids. It is important to know the names and functions of different kinds of laboratory equipment so that experiments are done safely and experiments are completed successfully. A beaker can hold liquids or solids. Beakers are sometimes used for pouring chemicals into other containers. Heat resistant beakers can be used for heating liquids. There are several types of flasks, including the Erlenmeyer flask. The Erlenmeyer flask can be used to hold and heat liquids. This flask has a triangular shape when viewed from the side. Boiling or Florence flasks can be used to hold and heat liquids also. This type of flask looks round when viewed from the side. There are also several kinds of flasks that have special functions. Test tubes can hold smaller amounts of chemicals. Some test tubes are made of heat resistant glass and can be used for heating chemicals. The watch glass and the evaporating dish both allow the solvent of a small amount of solution to evaporate. Evaporation can be helped by careful heating. The crucible is made to withstand high temperatures as when heating solids and may have a cover. The mortar and pestle are used for making and mixing powders. A short stem funnel is used for pouring liquids into containers. A thistle tube is another type of funnel and is long to make sure liquids get to the bottom of a flask or bottle. A dropping bottle and dropping pipette are used to dispense small amounts of liquids. Reagent bottles hold larger amounts of chemicals until needed. Other bottles are designed for generating or collecting gases. Stoppers and caps help keep contents safely inside, so replace them after use. Small quantities of solids can be transferred with a spatula. It is often helpful to handle solids by placing them on filter paper. Now you should be able to identify these different kinds of laboratory equipment. Congratulations! You have completed this learning activity. This lab equipment.