Test tube types, sizes, and uses, how to tell a test tube apart from culture, centrifuge, Durham, and blood collection tubes, and what the Durham tube detects. A practical guide fo...
Beaker features, types, and uses, why a beaker measures only approximate volumes, and when to use a graduated cylinder or flask instead. A practical guide for laboratory students.
Conical (Erlenmeyer) flask features and uses, and why its narrow neck and sloping sides make it the standard vessel for broth culture, shaking, and titration. A practical guide for...
The glassware used in a microbiology laboratory, with the name, use, and material of each, from Petri dishes and test tubes to conical flasks, pipettes, and McCartney bottles. A gu...
How to read a graduated cylinder accurately using the meniscus at eye level, how to avoid parallax error, its types and accuracy class, and when to use it instead of a beaker or vo...
How a desiccator keeps samples dry, what silica gel does and why it changes color, how to regenerate spent desiccant, the main types, and how to handle a desiccator without ruining...
Petri dish types and uses, why its lid rests loosely instead of sealing, why culture plates are incubated upside down, and how to pour agar at the right temperature. A guide for mi...
Glass pipette types and how to use them safely: Mohr's vs. serological (drain-out vs. blow-out), reading the meniscus, why you never pipette by mouth, and when to use a glass pipet...
