ABSTRACT
Soft soda-lime glassware is not heat-resistant because it has a low melting point and a high coefficient of expansion; when it is suddenly subjected to extreme temperature changes, it will break or crack. Plastic labware offers practically all the advantages of laboratory glassware, without the problem of breakage that always is present when glass is used. Porcelain may be heated to higher temperatures than glass. Volumetric flasks are calibrated to contain a specified volume when filled to the line etched on the neck. Containers used for volume measurements must have a calibration line corresponding to the volume of the solution being measured. There are four different glassware used for this purpose: beaker, Erlenmeyer flask, graduated cylinder and volumetric flask. Before use, volumetric flasks should be scrupulously clean. Cleaning with warm detergent solution, and following with several tapwater rinses and three rinses with deionized (DI) water is the general procedure.
