Whenever one says the word ‘laboratory’, the image of a test tube jumps to the mind directly, doesn’t it? Test tubes have become iconic with the concept of chemical or microbiology labs, and sample collection centers too. But how much do you actually know about test tubes? Labkafe sets out to explore the knowledge of test tubes today.

What Is A Test Tube?

To be precise, a test tube is nothing but a piece of glass or plastic tubing with one end closed off by its own material. The test tube we see being used in the laboratories today are generally made of glass, and in pathological laboratories, the test tube is often made of clear, sterile plastic. 

Test tubes are used to hold some amount of liquid or powdered material, and are kept vertically so that the open side is up top and the closed end is at the bottom. They are stored in the labs in special racks called test tube rack s that allow the tubes to stand upright. This also reduces some accidental jolting. 

How Test Tubes Are Used

Glass test tubes are used to heat up the matter inside them. They are fairly thin but moderately strong, so they are a very good container to heat up small amounts of matter (provided it’s not metal or something similar that can melt the glass). For this reason, almost all glass test tubes have rounded bottoms and are predominantly used in chemistry laboratories. 

Depending upon their usage, some test tubes are also called “culture tubes” or “sample tubes”. In microbiology or other bioscience labs, a clear plastic test tube is used to hold all kinds of tiny living organisms like bacteria, fungi, plant seedlings, etc. (hence the name ‘culture tube). Culture tubes are kept horizontally instead of vertically when breeding microorganisms so as to increase the surface area to the maximum.

In pathology and medicine labs, sterile, clear plastic tubes are used to collect and keep body fluids like blood and urine. Mostly blood. Called “sample tubes” aptly, their insides are emptied of all air before use and sealed with caps so that no kind of organism can grow inside. For this reason, sample test tubes are also called ‘vacutainers’ (for vacuum + container). 

Note: Often according to usage, serum collection tubes are sealed with some sort of chemical within them that needs to immediately mix with the sample fluid for some good reason. For example, a pathology lab section dedicated to drawing blood samples would use sample tubes with Sodium Citrate, which acts as an anticoagulant that keeps the blood liquid within the tube. When drawing blood, this immediately mixes with it and lets the lab store the blood for a long time without drying. These sample tubes with additives will be color-marked (light blue cap for tubes with sodium citrate) to prevent human mistakes.

Other Uses of A Test Tube

Boiling Tubes

Glass test tube is great for heating up liquids, but there is a problem when you try to boil some liquid in a standard test tube for some time. When a liquid boils in such a small enclosure, it doesn’t get enough surface area to let the gas out (one reason why test tubes are tilted when heating liquids; it increases the surface area as you tilt). So, when boiling violently, the liquid may explode out of the tube, causing awful accidents, resulting in extremely painful and damaging burns. Boiling acid is no joke.

For exactly this reason, a bigger-sized test tube (about 50% larger than normal test tubes) is used in chemistry laboratories expressly for the purpose of boiling things for some time. These “boiling tubes” have somewhat thicker walls and sturdier construction (and are larger), but otherwise, they are mostly the same as normal test tubes.

Ignition Tubes

Suppose you need some small quantities of solid powder material that you want directly heated for a good amount of time at a high temperature. Normal glass test tubes won’t cut it here since they can melt. For this purpose, a specially made test tube called an ignition tube is used. They are made of toughened, thick borosilicate glass that won’t get soft at those temperatures. A sodium fusion reaction is a good example of such a case where an ignition tube is required.

However, there is a downside to this. Normally, glass test tubes used at chem labs are easily cleaned with a test tube brush. But ignition tubes often have melted residues at and around the bottom inside, which is very hard to scrape out using that. Also, they are very small too and are quite brittle. So, you can expect to use ignition tubes in a disposable manner only.

Miscellaneous Usage

While not common, there are other types of test tubes used for very specific tasks. There is a graduated test tube used for measuring small amounts of liquids while in action. There are also specially-made conical-bottomed tubes that are best for mounting on centrifuges. There is a “Folin-Wu” blood sugar tube with a very odd shape. 

Some test tubes are coated on the outside with amber to handle light-sensitive substances. Some test tubes are so tiny they can hold just 2-3 drops of liquid (1 ml), and there are their huge contrast brothers with nearly two hundred milliliters capacity. Some don’t have rims. Some have glass stoppers instead of standard rubber or cork.  Some have flat bottoms and can stand on their own. The variety is limitless! But remember that these test tubes are used for very specific purposes only, and chances are that you won’t probably find them in your standard school labs.

What Test Tubes Are Made Of

The most common test tube in the world is the glass test tube used in chemistry and biology labs all over the world in school and college labs, in research institutes, and for some heating work in medical and pharma labs as well. They are made out of borosilicate glass (most commonly), but they can be made from fused quartz as well to withstand high temperatures. 

The reason for using glass for the test tube is fairly simple. Glass, especially borosilicate glass, is one of the most inert materials in the world ‒ it doesn’t react with any standard lab chemicals unless melted. And they have a fairly high melting point, making them a great choice for boiling various liquids, from water to sulphuric acid. Glass test tube generally have a rounded bottom for easy heating and a flared top for easy pouring.

Labkafe has sold probably millions of test tubes to schools and colleges. Our test tubes are 15×125 mm in size and can hold about 10 ml of liquid. They can withstand over 1000°C of heat, making them a solid member of school and college chemistry lab packages .

When heating liquids in a glass test tube, it is held by tongs or test tube clamps at an angle over the flame. The top remains relatively cool while the bottom goes up hundreds of degrees, due to the low heat conductivity of glass. Some glass test tube come with cork to temporarily close off the topside.

While glass is great for experimenting in, it’s not good for durability ‒ glass breaks easily, everybody knows. So, in pathology and medical labs where test tube don’t have to be heated (indeed, they will be frozen most of the time instead), but may go through a lot of motions like shaking or spinning, they are made from clear plastic instead of glass. 

The actual material used in these tubes is polystyrene or polypropylene and they have plastic caps screwed on. Unlike glass tubes, plastic test tubes are used one-time only (disposable), and they have flat thick bottoms and straight, screwed tops. These come in various sizes according to use (blood collection tubes are often stubbier than normal test tube).

You can clean test tubes with a standard test tube brush and soap water. After cleaning, you can put them on a test tube peg rack (upside down) to let them dry. This is the way.

Bottom of the Tube

To be sure, test tube have become iconic with labs, as we’ve mentioned earlier. Any chemistry or bioscience lab picture is bound to have some test tubes in it. Indeed, most of the school-level chemical experiments you have to learn are done with test tubes mostly ‒ for example,  identification of various salts . In a school biology lab as well you can expect to hold a test tube all day figuring out what kind of nutrient is in it; protein, fat, or starch. 

Long story short, test tubes have been in labs since the beginning of modern science, and they are likely to stay there until we can invent something highly sci-fi-like suspension fields or something akin to that. This is why test tube is an obvious part of most lab equipment packages .

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Let us see and try to understand the basic apparatus used in School chemistry laboratories and what are their specific uses when performing any chemical experiment. The first and foremost apparatus that every student or member entering the chemical laboratories should be aware of is of the safety apparatus. Safety protocols should be followed very strictly in these areas as a small mistake or misfortune can lead to big casualties and severe outcomes. One should always make sure to wear fully covered shoes and not sandals or slippers in any laboratory.

1. Safety goggles: One must wear safety goggles in the chemistry lab. It protects the eyes from irritation that may arise from any chemical or fumes coming out during the experiment. In case of any accidental splashing of chemicals or acids, it also protects us from the blindness of the eyes 
2. Lab Apron: Lab apron has a similar role as the safety goggles, but here the difference just being that instead of protecting just the eyes, it is usedprevention of any injury in case of spills or splashes. for prevention of any injury in case of spills or splashes. 
3. Latex gloves: These gloves are useful in handling chemicals, acids, or any solutions to prevent direct contact from these chemicals with the bare hand sand skin.  
4. Beakers: Beakers are cylindrical utensils made up of borosilicate glass, with a flat bottom and the upper opening having a rim around it along with a spout. The spout on their rim’s aids in the proper pouring of solutions and they do not have any covering on the top. Most of the time watch glasses are used to cover their solutions. They are of varying sizes and are used to hold, heat, or mix substances with a proper measure. Although they come with graduated calibrations, they are not meant for precise calculations of solutions, and as such other apparatus come handy in this.
5. Conical flasks: Conical flask, also known as Erlenmeyer flask, is an apparatus having a flat bottom and a long narrow neck, which allows easy mixing of the solution without spilling out the content. Since the flask has a narrow long neck, it is also used to gently heat the content inside with a gentle swirling motion of the flask. The flask can also be covered using a rubber cap or cork. One should always remember never to heat any flask with its cap on as it will lead to pressure and gas build up inside the closed flask and lead to explosions.
6. Boiling flask: Boiling flasks, also known as Florence flask, has a round bottom with a long neck. It can be capped using rubber or glass stoppers and is mostly used to hold solutions that can be easily heated with proper swirling motions for proper mixing.
7. Test tubes: The next very common apparatus are the test tubes. They are usually cylindrical pipes made up of glass, with a circular opening on one side and a rounded bottom on the other. They come in different sizes but the most common standard size is 18*150 mm. Test tubes are one of the most important apparatus as they are functional from storing to mixing reagents in any chemical or biological reactions. They become very handy when a large number of samples need to be tested for qualitative assessment of any test.
8. Watch glass: This apparatus is made up of a concave piece of glass. It is normally used to hold solids, evaporate liquids, and heat small quantities of different substances as per the need of the experiment. Sometimes, they also become functional in serving as a lid for the beakers.
9. Crucibles: Crucibles are made up of porcelain and are used to store and heat substances when required to be heated at high temperatures since glassware is not always suitable for such high heat involving experiments.
10. Funnels: Funnels are necessary equipment to pour substances and solutions in narrow-mouthed test tubes and conical flasks. There is variety of its available, the most common ones are filter, thistle, and dropping funnels.
11. Graduated cylinders: These are some cylindrical apparatus with several markings up and down the length of the container with the primary function dealing with proper measurement of a specific volume of liquid with precision. While taking readings, one needs to be careful to take into consideration the reading with respect to the meniscus of the liquid. 
12. Volumetric flasks: This is one of the most important glassware of any lab, which is made up of glass and is calibrated to hold a precise volume of liquids at any precise temperature. Different sizes of volumetric flasks are available, each calibrated for exact measurement of liquids and solutions. It is mostly used in the preparation of standard solutions. 
13. Droppers: The dropper, also known as Pasteur pipette, is a common small apparatus, usually made up of plastic or glass cylinder, having a small nozzle on one side and a rubber holder on the other. It is used to put the liquids or solutions in any medium dropwise, that is, one drop at a time, necessary equipment when any reagent is required in an extremely small amount in a solution. 
14. Pipettes: Pipettes are of varying sizes, designed for accomplishing specific goals of volumes. These are narrow glass cylindrical pipes, used for measuring an exact volume of liquid and placing it into another container. 
15. Burettes: A very popular equipment, mostly used in the titration reactions, and is a handful in delivering a known volume of any substance to other equipment. This apparatus is a long-graduated tube, with a stopcock present at the lower end and a narrow opening at the bottom. They are usually set up by using a burette clamp in combination with a ring stand. It usually comes in the sizes of 10ml, 25ml, or 50ml. 
16. Ring stands, rings, and clamps: These are the apparatus that are used to suspend burettes, flasks, crucibles, etc. either above other containers or above Bunsen burners for heating purposes. While heating these flasks, wire mesh is a necessary apparatus for the even distribution of the heat. 
17. Tongs and forceps: Tongs, though not much in use, are common and basic apparatus in any lab. They are used to grasp and lift hot vessels and harmful substances during any kind of reaction taking place in the lab. Forceps are used to grab small things like solid chemicals that are broken into chunks. 
18. Spatulas and scopulas: These laboratory spatulas are very much similar to the kitchen like spatulas found in our home but they are just very smaller in size in comparison. The spatulas are usually resistant to heat and acids, hence making them suitable for large range use in the laboratory experiments. 
19. Thermometer: Every lab is equipped with a basic thermometer as many a time, certain chemical or biological reaction can be carried out in any particular temperature range only and so to proceed, the thermometer becomes very necessary to measure the temperature of the required solution before moving forward with further reaction procedure. 
20. Bunsen burner: This apparatus produces a single open flame and it is used for heating and sterilization purposes in the various experiments conducted in labs. 
21. Litmus and filter papers: These two cannot be called apparatus in a proper way, but they serve as one of the most important and basic things that will be required in any kind of laboratories. The litmus paper serves to identify the pH of any solution by changing colors whereas, the filter paper serves in the filtration process. 

These items are the basic and must apparatus of any chemistry laboratory. Along with these, we will also get to see weighing balance, brushes to clean test tubes, wash bottles which are also used for cleaning purposes. As these apparatuses serve the basic, every student must get familiar with all this equipment and their working to have safe and sound practical experiment experiences in the chemical laboratories.

You may check out our blog on List of Science lab equipment for school READ NOW

About Labkafe: Lab Equipment Manufacturer & Exporter

We are a School laboratory furniture and Lab equipment manufacturer and supplier. In laboratory furniture for school, we first design the entire laboratory room keeping in mind the requirements as per affiliation CBSE Bye-Laws. Also, we take care of the complete designing and installation of laboratory furniture.

In the lab equipment section, we have a wide range of glassware, chemicals, equipment and other lab accessories. Most of them are available for order online on our website but some of them can be procured on demand.

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