Pick the name of the numbered piece and what it is used for.
Lab Materials Quiz
Name Date
Which piece is this?
1 of 5
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Write the name of each numbered piece, then its use.Answer key
Beaker · Holding, mixing and heating liquids in an open cup
Erlenmeyer flask (conical flask) · Swirling a liquid without spilling it
Florence flask (boiling flask) · Boiling a liquid in a round body that heats evenly
Test tube · Holding and mixing a small sample in a narrow tube
Watch glass · Covering a beaker or holding a solid to be weighed
Graduated cylinder (measuring cylinder) · Measuring the volume of a liquid poured into it
Volumetric flask · Preparing a solution of one exact volume
Volumetric pipette (pipet) · Measuring and moving one small, exact volume
Burette (buret) · Dispensing a measured volume through a stopcock
Thermometer · Measuring temperature
Balance · Measuring mass
Bunsen burner · Heating with an open gas flame
Hot plate · Heating glassware on a flat electric surface
Crucible · Holding a solid heated to a very high temperature
Evaporating dish · Evaporating a liquid from a wide, shallow bowl
Ring stand (retort stand) · Holding rings and clamps on one upright rod
Iron ring (ring clamp) · Supporting a funnel, wire gauze or clay triangle
Utility clamp · Fixing glassware to a ring stand with two prongs
Wire gauze · Supporting a beaker over a flame and spreading heat
Clay triangle (pipeclay triangle) · Supporting a crucible over a flame
Test tube rack · Holding several test tubes upright at once
Test tube holder (test tube clamp) · Holding one hot test tube
Crucible tongs · Lifting and holding a hot crucible
Forceps · Picking up objects too small for fingers
Funnel · Guiding a liquid or powder into a small opening
Dropper (Pasteur pipette) · Adding a liquid one drop at a time
Wash bottle · Rinsing glassware with a stream of water
Scoopula (lab scoop) · Scooping and transferring a solid chemical
Stirring rod (glass rod) · Stirring a liquid or a mixture
Mortar and pestle · Crushing and grinding a solid into powder
Drawn for this site, 2026-09-19. Licence: own work.
Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a piece is answered.
Beaker(use: Holding, mixing and heating liquids in an open cup)A beaker holds, mixes and heats liquids. The marks on its side give only an estimate of the volume, so it is not a measuring tool.
Erlenmeyer flask (conical flask)(use: Swirling a liquid without spilling it)Sloping sides and a narrow neck let you swirl liquid without spilling. Named for the German chemist Emil Erlenmeyer, it is also called a conical flask.
Florence flask (boiling flask)(use: Boiling a liquid in a round body that heats evenly)The round body lets a liquid heat evenly. So this flask is used for boiling. It is also called a boiling flask. Some have a flat base so they can stand without a support.
Test tube(use: Holding and mixing a small sample in a narrow tube)A test tube holds and mixes a small amount of liquid. It cannot stand up by itself, so it goes in a rack, and a hot one is held with a clamp.
Watch glass(use: Covering a beaker or holding a solid to be weighed)A watch glass holds a solid while it is weighed. It also sits on top of a beaker as a cover. The name comes from the glass front of old pocket watches.
Measuring: 6 pieces 6
Graduated cylinder (measuring cylinder)(use: Measuring the volume of a liquid poured into it)A graduated cylinder measures the volume of a liquid. It is more accurate than a beaker or flask. Read it at eye level, at the bottom of the curved surface called the meniscus.
Volumetric flask(use: Preparing a solution of one exact volume)A volumetric flask is made to hold one exact volume. Fill it to the ring on its neck. It is used to prepare solutions and precise dilutions.
Volumetric pipette (pipet)(use: Measuring and moving one small, exact volume)A volumetric pipette measures one small volume of liquid very accurately. It fills to its single mark. Liquid is drawn into it with a rubber pipet bulb.
Burette (buret)(use: Dispensing a measured volume through a stopcock)A burette dispenses an accurate volume of liquid through a tap. The tap is called a stopcock. Its scale runs from top to bottom, so the volume delivered is the final reading minus the starting one. It is the tube used in titrations.
Thermometer(use: Measuring temperature)A thermometer measures temperature, in a school lab usually in degrees Celsius. School labs use alcohol or digital thermometers, not mercury ones.
Balance(use: Measuring mass)A balance measures mass. The object goes on the pan and the mass shows on the screen. A very sensitive balance sits inside a glass case, called a draft shield, that keeps air currents off the pan.
Heating: 4 pieces 4
Bunsen burner(use: Heating with an open gas flame)A Bunsen burner gives a single open gas flame for heating. Opening the air holes in the collar makes a hotter blue flame; with them closed the flame is cooler and yellow. It is named after Robert Bunsen.
Hot plate(use: Heating glassware on a flat electric surface)A hot plate heats glassware and what is in it. It has a flat electric surface and no flame. Some models also stir the liquid with a magnet.
Crucible(use: Holding a solid heated to a very high temperature)A crucible holds a chemical heated to a very high temperature. The loose lid lets gases escape. It sits in a clay triangle over the flame and is moved with tongs.
Evaporating dish(use: Evaporating a liquid from a wide, shallow bowl)An evaporating dish heats a liquid until it evaporates. That leaves a stronger solution or a solid behind. It is wide and shallow because a large surface speeds evaporation up.
Stands and supports: 5 pieces 5
Ring stand (retort stand)(use: Holding rings and clamps on one upright rod)A ring stand holds lab equipment in place. Rings and clamps are fixed to its rod at any height. It is also called a retort stand, clamp stand or support stand.
Iron ring (ring clamp)(use: Supporting a funnel, wire gauze or clay triangle)An iron ring fastens to a ring stand. It supports a funnel, a wire gauze with a beaker on it, or a clay triangle holding a crucible.
Utility clamp(use: Fixing glassware to a ring stand with two prongs)A utility clamp secures glassware like a flask to a ring stand. A screw opens and closes its two prongs, and the clamp slides up or down the rod to set the height.
Wire gauze(use: Supporting a beaker over a flame and spreading heat)Wire gauze sits on an iron ring. It supports a beaker or flask while it is heated. The mesh spreads the heat, and a ceramic center spreads it more evenly. The glassware on it must have a flat bottom.
Clay triangle (pipeclay triangle)(use: Supporting a crucible over a flame)A clay triangle rests on an iron ring and supports a crucible. So the flame can heat the crucible directly.
Tongs, racks and holders: 4 pieces 4
Test tube rack(use: Holding several test tubes upright at once)A test tube rack holds several test tubes upright at one time. Racks are made of wood, plastic, stainless steel or wire.
Test tube holder (test tube clamp)(use: Holding one hot test tube)A test tube holder grips one test tube near the top. So a hot tube never has to be touched. A spring keeps its jaws closed. It is not built for flasks or anything heavier.
Crucible tongs(use: Lifting and holding a hot crucible)Crucible tongs pick up and hold a hot crucible. The arms curve outward near the ends to make a rounded grip, which also fits an evaporating dish or a small flask.
Forceps(use: Picking up objects too small for fingers)Forceps pick up or hold objects too small for fingers. Outside biology and medicine most people call them tweezers. The plural of forceps is also forceps.
Transfer and mixing: 6 pieces 6
Funnel(use: Guiding a liquid or powder into a small opening)A funnel guides liquid or fine powder into a container's small opening. With a folded filter paper inside, it separates a solid from a liquid.
Dropper (Pasteur pipette)(use: Adding a liquid one drop at a time)A dropper moves small amounts of liquid. It adds them a drop at a time. It has no marks, so it cannot measure a volume. It is also called a Pasteur pipette or an eye dropper.
Wash bottle(use: Rinsing glassware with a stream of water)A wash bottle is squeezed to send a thin stream of water. The water, usually deionized, goes through its nozzle. It rinses glassware and adds small amounts of water.
Scoopula (lab scoop)(use: Scooping and transferring a solid chemical)A scoopula transfers solid chemicals. For example, from a bottle to a weighing paper. The name began as a brand name for this spatula-like scoop.
Stirring rod (glass rod)(use: Stirring a liquid or a mixture)A stirring rod mixes liquids, or a solid into a liquid. Its ends are rounded so it does not scratch the glassware. A liquid can also be poured down the rod to guide it into a container.
Mortar and pestle(use: Crushing and grinding a solid into powder)The mortar is the bowl and the pestle is the blunt club. Together they crush and grind a solid into a fine powder. Lab sets are usually made of porcelain.
How this list was compiled: Names and uses were read on 2026-09-19, for facts only, with nothing copied. (1) American Chemical Society, Committee on Chemical Safety, Guidelines for Chemical Laboratory Safety in Secondary Schools (2016), the table Basic Laboratory Glassware and Equipment on printed pages 43 to 49: https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/about/governance/committees/chemicalsafety/publications/acs-secondary-safety-guidelines.pdf . That address refuses automated readers, so the same file was read through the Internet Archive copy of 2023-12-26: https://web.archive.org/web/20231226080146/https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/about/governance/committees/chemicalsafety/publications/acs-secondary-safety-guidelines.pdf . The table gives the name and the use of 27 of the 30 pieces. It does not list the Florence flask, the dropper or the hot plate. Its text outside the table names hot plates as electric equipment for heating and bottles with droppers for solutions added in drops. (2) A second reference for every piece, and for the Florence flask three references of this kind: the Wikipedia articles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaker_(laboratory_equipment), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunsen_burner, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burette, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucible, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucible_tongs, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erlenmeyer_flask, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporating_dish, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_dropper, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_flask, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forceps, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_rod, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graduated_cylinder, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_plate, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_ring_(laboratory), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laboratory_flask, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laboratory_funnel, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortar_and_pestle, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipeclay_triangle, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipette, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retort_stand, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoopula, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_tube, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_tube_holder, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_tube_rack, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermometer, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_clamp, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volumetric_flask, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wash_bottle, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watch_glass, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weighing_scale, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_gauze and the Wiktionary entry https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Florence_flask . Each item carries its own references in the field checked. The drawing is our own work. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site, 2026-09-19. Original line drawing built from our own list and our own proportions; nothing was traced or copied, and no maker, model or logo is shown. Read for accuracy of shape only: the articles listed in the dataset source. Licence: own work
How it works
This lab materials quiz shows 30 pieces of school lab equipment in 6 groups. A round asks all 30: first the name, then the use. Open Study for every name with its use.
Read the full guide
How the lab materials quiz works
One group fills the frame and a numbered ring lights. Choose the name from four, then the use from four. A question counts only when both are right. To quiz a single group, pick it under Start from: Flasks and containers has 5 pieces, Measuring 6, Heating 4, Stands and supports 5, Tongs, racks and holders 4, Transfer and mixing 6, and Glassware only 12.
Names that differ from book to book
When you type a name, both versions count: conical flask for the Erlenmeyer flask, boiling flask for the Florence flask, retort stand for the ring stand, ring clamp for the iron ring, buret and pipet for the shorter spellings, tweezers for forceps.
Three flasks, three shapes: the Erlenmeyer is a cone, the Florence a ball with a long neck, the volumetric a pear with one ring.
Two hand tools grip hot things: crucible tongs bow out near the tips, and the test tube holder has small jaws that a spring shuts.
Four pieces measure volume: the graduated cylinder any amount, the volumetric flask and pipette one amount each, the burette what it lets out.
Questions and answers
What lab equipment is in the quiz?
Thirty pieces: 12 of glass, such as the beaker, the graduated cylinder and the burette, and 18 others, from the Bunsen burner, ring stand and wire gauze to crucible tongs, forceps and the mortar and pestle. Study lists them all by number.
What is the difference between a beaker and a flask?
A beaker is a straight-sided cup with a wide open top and a pouring lip. A flask narrows to a neck: the Erlenmeyer flask for swirling, the Florence flask for boiling, the volumetric flask for making a solution of one exact volume.
Can I print this as a lab materials worksheet?
Yes. Print blank gives the whole drawing with rings numbered 1 to 30 and a line for each name and use. Print labelled is the same sheet with every answer written in.
Where do the names and uses come from?
From the equipment table in the American Chemical Society's safety guidelines for secondary schools, read on 2026-09-19, with a second reference for every piece. The drawing was made for this site, which is not connected to the society.