Measuring Cylinder/Graduated Cylinder 

Definition Uses Functions

– All You Need to Know Before Using or Buying!

 

Contents

 

1.Definition and Material of Measuring Cylinder

1.1 Definition

1.2 Material

2.Measuring Cylinder Volume and Structure

2.1 Volume

2.2 Structure

3.Measuring Cylinder Uses and Cautions

3.1 Uses

3.1.1 How to inject liquid into the cylinder?

3.1.2 Which side should the scale of the measuring cylinder be?

3.1.3 When to read the volume of the liquid taken?

3.1.4 How to read the volume of the liquid taken?

3.1.5 Can I heat the measuring cylinder or measure the overheated liquid?

3.1.6 Do I need to flush the cylinder with water after pouring out the liquid ?

3.1.7 What’s the lowest scale of the measuring cylinder?

3.1.8 How to measure the volume of an irregular object using a graduated cylinder?

3.2 Cautions

3.2.1 Never use the measuring cylinder as a reaction container

3.2.2 Can not be heated

3.2.3 Never dilute concentrated acid, concentrated alkali with the cylinder

3.2.4 Do not store pharmacy

3.2.5 Do not use it to take hot solution

3.2.6 Never clean it with decontamination powder to avoid scratching

4.Measuring Cylinder Cleaning and Storage

4.1 Cleaning

4.2 Storage

5.Advantages and Disadvantages

5.1 Advantages

5.2 Disadvantages

6.Other Common Measuring Tools/Devices in Laboratories

7.Places to Source Quality Measuring Cylinder

7.1 For personal use

7.2 For laboratories or school supplies

8.Measuring Cylinder Demo Video and Production Video

 

Measuring Cylinder Graduated Cylinder Definition Uses Functions - All You Need to Know Before Using or Buying!

1.Definition and Material of Measuring Cylinder

1.1 Definition

A Measuring Cylinder or Graduated Cylinder,Graduated Glass is a type of measuring tools and common moderately accurate laboratory consumable used for measuring the volume of liquid.

The graduated cylinder is widely used in various laboratories,such as school laboratories, medical inspection, environmental protection departments, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, petrochemical, aquatic products testing, cosmetics, coatings, quality supervision departments, biological and other enterprises’ laboratories.

Measuring Cylinder Graduated Cylinder -www.laboratory-apparatus.com

1.2 Material

The Measuring Cylinder is a common and essential measuring device used in the laboratory, mainly made of glass and plastic.

The common glass types for measuring cylinder are Quartz Glass and Borosilicate Glass(Boro.3.3).

(Quartz Glass Silica/SiO₂content is greater than 99.5%, low thermal expansion coefficient, high temperature resistance, good chemical stability; Borosilicate Glass with Silica/SiO₂and Boron Trioxide/B2O3 as the main components, it has good heat resistance and chemical stability, and is used to manufacture cooking wares, laboratory instruments, metal solder sealing glass, etc.

Glass Measuring Cylinder

The purpose is to quantitatively measure the liquid by volume. Plastic measuring cylinder made of PP plastic ( Polypropylene) can also be used for kitchen purpose to measuring water or other liquid.

Plastic Graduated Cylinder

2.Measuring Cylinder Volume and Structure

2.1 Volume

The specifications are expressed in terms of the maximum capacity (ml) of the measuring cylinder, and commonly used volumes are 10ml, 25ml, 50ml, 100ml, 250ml, 500ml, 1000ml,2000ml,etc.

The outer wall graduation/scale is in ml, the 10ml graduated cylinder represents 0.2ml per small scale, and the 50ml graduated cylinder represents 1ml per small scale. It can be seen that the larger the cylinder, the thicker the pipe diameter, the smaller the accuracy, and the larger the reading error caused by the deviation of the line of sight. Therefore, in the experiment, according to the volume of the liquid taken, try to use the smallest gauge cylinder that can be measured at one time. Fractional metering can also cause errors. If you take 70ml of liquid, you should use a 100mL measuring cylinder.

2.2 Structure

The measuring cylinder has a long cylindrical shape with a mouth on one side for easy dumping. The lower part has wide feet for stability. The cylinder wall is engraved with a Volumetric range for the user to read the volume. The maximum measured volume is from a few milliliters to a few liters. The cylinder wall is printed with scales from the bottom up. When observing the reading, the user should pay attention to the line of sight that needs to be level with the lowest point of the liquid surface of the liquid (or the highest point of the liquid surface).

Graduated Cylinder Structure (1)

Graduated Cylinder Structure (2)

3.Measuring Cylinder Uses and Cautions

3.1 Uses

3.1.1 How to inject liquid into the cylinder?

When injecting liquid into the measuring cylinder, use your left hand to hold the measuring cylinder, tilt the measuring cylinder slightly, and take the reagent bottle in the right hand so that the bottle mouth is close to the measuring cylinder mouth to let the liquid slowly flows in.

When the amount to be injected is slightly less than the amount required, place the cylinder on the table and use a plastic dropper to add the required amount.

3.1.2 Which side should the scale of the measuring cylinder be?

The graduated cylinder does not have a “0” scale, and the general starting scale is 1/10 of the total volume. Many experimental pictures on the chemical book, the scale surface of the measuring cylinder is at the opposite side, which is very inconvenient to read.

The view sight is going through two layers of glass and liquid, if the liquid is turbid, the scale is even less visible, and the scale figures are not pleasing to the eye. So the scale should face the user.

3.1.3 When to read the volume of the liquid taken?

After injecting the liquid, wait for 1 to 2 minutes to allow the adhering liquid to flow down the inner wall, and then read the scale value. Otherwise, the value read is smaller than actual value.

3.1.4 How to read the volume of the liquid taken?

Place the graduated cylinder on a flat surface first and then view the height of the liquid in the cylinder with your eyes directly.

The meniscus is the U-shapes “the upper surface of a liquid in the measuring tube” Read the measuring volume in a graduated cylinder at the bottom of the meniscus. Always look straight from the side of the meniscus at the graduated cylinder to measure and never try to read from above or below. Otherwise, the value will be higher or lower than the actual value.

How to read the volume of the liquid taken

3.1.5 Can I heat the measuring cylinder or measure the overheated liquid?

The scale of the cylinder refers to the number of volumes at a temperature of 20 °C. As the temperature rises, the cylinder expands and the volume increases. So,unlike the glass test tubes, measuring cylinder can not be heated, nor can it be used to measure the superheated liquid, and it is impossible to carry out chemical reaction or formulate the solution in the measuring cylinder.

3.1.6 Do I need to flush the cylinder with water after pouring out the liquid ?

This depends on the specific situation. If it is only for the measurement to be accurate, it is not necessary to flush the cylinder with water, since the residual liquid is already taken into account when manufacturing the cylinder. Conversely, if flushing, the volume taken will be higher than actual value. If you want to use the same cylinder to measure other liquids, you must flush it with water to prevent contamination.

3.1.7 What’s the lowest scale of the measuring cylinder?

The lowest scale is usually 1/10 of the maximum scale.

For example, the lowest scale is 1mL for the 10mL cylinder and the lowest for the 500mL cylinder is 50mL.

3.1.8 How to measure the volume of an irregular object using a graduated cylinder?

It’s easier to find the volume of a regular object by using an equation.But how to measure the volume of a screw/rock or water-soluble object ? Luckily, there is a straightforward way to calculate the volume of irregular objects by measuring the water levels in a graduated cylinder.

Water-insoluble Object:

Choose a graduated cylinder which the object can easily fit inside,add water to the measuring cylinder,read the initial water level V1.

Tilt the cylinder to slide the object into the water slightly,make sure the object is completely submerged in the water,note down the final water level V2.

The volume of the irregular object V can be obtained by subtracting the volume of the first volume V1 from the final volume V2,ie.V=V2-V1.

Note: If the density of the object is less than the water and floating in the water, you can press it into the water with a fine needle, such as a wooden block.

How to measure the volume of an irregular object using a graduated cylinder

Water-soluble Object:

If the object is soluble in water, you can put fine sand in the measuring cylinder, shake the surface and smooth it out to read V1, then bury the small object in the fine sand and shake it evenly to read V2. Then the volume of the object V2=V2 -V1.

3.2 Cautions

3.2.1 Never use the measuring cylinder as a reaction container

3.2.2 Can not be heated

3.2.3 Never dilute concentrated acid, concentrated alkali with the cylinder

3.2.4 Do not store pharmacy

3.2.5 Do not use it to take hot solution

3.2.6 Never clean it with decontamination powder to avoid scratching

4.Measuring Cylinder Cleaning and Storage

4.1 Cleaning

Do not use a brush to clean the measuring cylinder,wash it continuously with water,then flush with distilled water. Wash with alcohol if they’re water-insoluble objects,then flush with distilled water.

4.2 Storage

The graduated cylinder should be kept in dry and safe place in case of damage or pollution,such as laboratory cabinet.

5.Advantages and Disadvantages

5.1 Advantages

Measuring cylinder is an essential and economical measuring device for laboratory,kitchen and many other laboratory occasions.

5.2 Disadvantages

The measuring cylinder can only be used when the precision requirement is not very strict. It is usually used in qualitative analysis and is generally not used for quantitative analysis because the error of the measuring cylinder is big. If more precision is needed, volumetric pipets, flasks and burette can be used.

6.Other Common Measuring Tools/Devices in Laboratories

In addition to the measuring cylinder, there are many other common used measuring tools/devices in the laboratory,such as measuring beaker,measuring cup,volumetric pipets, measuring flasks and burette etc.

7.Places to Source Quality Measuring Cylinder

7.1 For personal use

For personal use/home schooling,you can get the measuring cylinder from local Chemistry store,Science store or kitchen store,etc. You can also order from online stores if it’s not urgently needed.

7.2 For laboratories or school supplies

As a common laboratory consumable and supplies,measuring cylinder are in great need by varies laboratories and schools. So,the best way is to source from reliable supplier,such as HTSTAR Science & Laboratory Apparatus Co.,Ltd. https://laboratory-apparatus.com huge selection of laboratory consumables and science lab equipment,five-star service.

8.Measuring Cylinder Demo Video and Production Video

Here’re the videos for measuring cylinder uses and production,you can watch it on youtube via links:

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