COLLEGE OF NURSING

2ND Semester S.Y. 2020 - 2021

February 2021

NAME: Evangelista, Daniella D. Date Performed: February 12, 2021

COURSE/YEAR/SECTIO: BSN 1-1 Date Submitted: February 13, 2021

Experiment/Activity #2
COMMON LABORATORY APPARATUS USED FOR MICROBIOLOGICAL
EXAMINATIONS
OBJECTIVE:
1. To be familiar with the common laboratory apparatus used for microbiological
examinations.
2. To describe their parts and uses.

INTRODUCTION
Working safely in the laboratory does not only require the students to follow the
universal precaution but also become familiar with the apparatus and equipment, their
uses and location.
Various types of apparatuses and equipments are used in the laboratory
activities in microbiology. Students are required to learn the name of each and give their
uses as well.

Materials/Equipments Inoculating needle

Pasteur pipette Inoculating loop.
Graduated pipette test tube with cotton plug
Volumetric pipette test tube
Plain slide stirring rod.
Hanging drop slide staining trough
Graduated cylinder. Petri dish
Beaker alcohol lamp
Funnel Smith’s fermentation tube
Forceps Durham’s fermentation tub
Culture tube colony counter
Dropper
PROCEDURE
Draw the different apparatuses and give the description and uses of each.

Pasteur pipette Graduated pipette

Volumetric pipette Plain slide

Hanging drop slide Graduated cylinder

Beaker Funnel

Forceps Culture tube

Dropper Inoculating needle

Inoculating loop Test tube with cotton plug

Test tube Stirring rod

Staining Trough Petri Dish

 Alcohol Lamp Smith’s Fermentation Tube

Durham’s Fermentation Tube Colony Counter

OBSERVATION
Write the descriptions and use/s of the common apparatuses and equipment.

 Pasteur pipette- also known as droppers or eye droppers. They are usually glass

tubes tapered to a narrow point, and fitted with a rubber bulb at the top. This
pipette is used to transfer small quantities of liquids. .
 Graduated pipette- a pipette with its volume, in increments, marked along the tube.
It is used to accurately measure and transfer a volume of liquid from one
container to another.
 Volumetric pipette- or bulb pipette allows extremely accurate measurement of the
volume of a solution. It is calibrated to deliver accurately a fixed volume of liquid.
This pipette is commonly used in analytical chemistry to make laboratory
solutions from a base stock as well as to prepare solutions for titration.
 Plain slide- A glass slide is a thin, flat, rectangular piece of glass that is used as a
platform for microscopic specimen observation. A typical glass slide usually
measures 25 mm wide by 75 mm, or 1 inch by 3 inches long, and is designed to
fit under the stage clips on a microscope stage.
 Hanging drop slide- is a special type of wet mount (in which a drop of medium
containing the organisms is placed on a microscope slide), often is used in dark
 illumination to observe the motility of bacteria. The cover slip and drop are then
inverted over the well of a depression slide.
 Graduated cylinder- measuring cylinder or mixing cylinder is a common piece
of laboratory equipment that is used to measure the volume of a liquid. It has a
narrow cylindrical shape. And each marked line on the graduated cylinder
represents the amount of liquid that has been measured.
 Beaker- is a cylindrical glass or plastic vessel used for holding liquids. It is a
multi- purpose piece of equipment used for containing a chemical reaction,
measuring liquids, heating them over a Bunsen burners flame or collecting them
in a titration experiment.
 Funnel- It is used to transfer liquids or fine-grained materials into containers with
small openings. It can also used for separating solid substances from solution.
 Forceps- a medical instrument that acts as pincers or tweezers. It is often used to
grab, manipulate, or remove tissue or teeth from the body. Forceps can apply
force and/or pressure, such as during a tooth extraction, where fingers would be
useless.
 Culture tube- A cylindrical tube of clear glass, usually open at one end and
rounded at the other, used as a container for small amounts of a substance in
laboratory tests and experiments.
 Dropper- used for measuring and transferring liquids in small amounts. They
consist of a long plastic or glass tube with an opening at the end and a rubber
bulb at the top. By pressing this rubber bulb, you squeeze out the liquid you
need.
 Inoculating needle- used in the transfer of microbial organisms from plate culture
to needle by first sterilizing the needle to prevent contaminants.
 Inoculating loop- also called a smear loop, inoculation wand or microstreaker, is a
simple tool used mainly by microbiologists to pick up and transfer a small sample
(inoculum) from a culture of microorganisms, for streaking on a culture plate.
 Test tube with cotton plug- A test tube is a clear glass or plastic container that is
much longer than it is wide, and has an open top. The Cotton plugs are used to
stop air movement that might carry microbes. Cotton plugs are used in test
tubes, again to prevent contamination through the air.
 Test tube- is a clear glass or plastic container that is much longer than it is wide,
commonly has a U-shaped bottom, and has an open top. Test tubes are used to
hold, mix, and heat chemical experiments. They are used as homes for
microorganisms when people want to culture (grow) them.
 stirring rod- A glass stirring rod, glass rod, stirring rod or stir rod is a piece
of laboratory equipment used to mix chemicals and liquids for laboratory
purposes. They are usually made of solid glass, about the thickness and slightly
longer than a drinking straw, with rounded ends.
 Staining trough- The staining rack is produced from polyoxymethylene (POM) and
is designed for the simultaneous staining of up to 25 microscope slides.
The staining dish is designed for use with our staining rackand features a lid that
holds up to 28 slides for upright drying.
 Petri dish- Petri dish is a shallow, cylindrical, round glass dish, which is used to
culture different microorganism and cells. The most important and common use
of a petri dish is to culture cells. A petri dish provides space and protects them
from contamination.
 Alcohol lamp- used for heating, sterilization, and combustion in a laboratory. The
alcohol lamp uses ethyl alcohol or spirit as a fuel. It can be made from
brass, glass, stainless steel or aluminum.
  Smith’s fermentation tube- has a closed vertical arm which extends into a bulbous
portion with tapered opening. It is used in observing an organism doing
anaerobic fermentation. It is also used for the fermentation of carbohydrates. It
also collects any gases that result from the fermentation.
 Durham’s fermentation tube- used in microbiology to detect production of gas by
microorganisms. They are simply smaller test tubes inserted upside down in
another test tube. Durham tubes are simple lab apparatuses consisting of small
test tubes placed inverted in larger ones. Prior to the inversion, the larger test
tubes are filled with a seed culture of the microorganism being tested and a
medium suitable for the growth of different kinds of bacteria.
 Colony counter- used to estimate a liquid culture's density of microorganisms
by counting individual colonies on an agar plate, slide, mini gel, or Petri dish.
Typical applications include Ames testing, bacterial mutation assays, and E. coli
bacterial colonies.

QUESTIONS
1. How do you clean the glassware?

- Degrease your glassware’s ground glass joints by wiping them with a paper
towel soaked in a small amount of ether, acetone or other solvent.
- Place the glassware in a warm concentrated aqueous solution of Alconox, or
other detergent, and let sit for several minutes.
- Scrub. Be sure that your brush is in good shape before scrubbing (not rusty,
bristles are not matted down); replace it if necessary.
- Rinse thoroughly with tap water and give a final rinse with DI water.
- The water will sheet cleanly off the glass.

2. Give the proper care for these laboratory apparatuses.

- The proper care for these laboratory apparatuses is to be maintained and to

keep everything clean and sanitary. To keep your equipment and your lab in
great shape, it is important to wipe down the exterior of all equipment each
day and do a thorough, detailed cleaning at least once a week. Some types of
equipment will need to be cleaned using a specific cleaning process. Be sure
to consult each lab equipment’s manual to ensure they are cleaned properly.
CONCLUSSION
In conclusion, this experiment helps us to be familiar with the common laboratory
apparatuses that are used in the microbiological examination. Apart from it, I have
learned about all the laboratory apparatuses, their function, and their uses. I also
learned the proper cleaning and proper care for all these apparatuses. And lastly, I
would say that without knowing all the lab apparatuses it can be a bit dangerous to do
some experiment, we will not know how we are going to use it when we were now in the
lab to perform some experiment to present in the class and we will not know how to
correct a mistake that we could make with this apparatuses.