Chemistry · Some Basic Concepts Of Chemistry · NEET
A burette is a long tube with a tap (stopcock) at the bottom. It delivers a variable, adjustable volume of liquid, so it is mostly used in titration. A pipette delivers one fixed volume very accurately (for example, exactly 25 mL). A volumetric flask is a round flask with a single mark on its neck. It is used to prepare a solution of one exact known volume (for example, exactly 100 mL). So burette and pipette deliver liquid, while the volumetric flask holds and prepares a final solution.
The volumetric flask. This is the exact line NCERT uses: 'A volumetric flask is used to prepare a known volume of a solution.' You add your solute, then add water up to the single mark on the neck. This gives you a solution of one precise total volume, which is why it is used to make standard solutions of known molarity. NEET often twists this by saying a burette or pipette prepares the solution, which is wrong.
No, not in the same way as the others. NCERT lists graduated cylinder, burette and pipette as devices to measure the volume of liquids or solutions. The volumetric flask is listed separately because its job is to prepare a solution of a known fixed volume, not to measure out a random volume you choose. This one-word split is a common trap. Remember: measure = cylinder, burette, pipette; prepare = volumetric flask.
Both are accurate glass tools, but they do different jobs. A pipette delivers only one fixed volume, decided by its design (like a 10 mL or 25 mL pipette). A burette can deliver any volume you want up to its capacity, because it has a tap you open and close. In a titration, you usually pipette a fixed volume of one solution into a flask, then add the other solution slowly from the burette until the reaction is complete.
A graduated cylinder (also called a measuring cylinder) has marks along its side and measures the volume of a liquid quickly. It is easy to use but less accurate than a burette or pipette. Use a graduated cylinder for rough measurements, and use a burette or pipette when you need a precise volume, such as in quantitative experiments for NEET-level accuracy.
Volume is a derived quantity in this chapter, and molarity, molality and solution problems all depend on knowing the exact volume. NEET can ask a simple recall question: which apparatus prepares a solution of known volume, or which one measures volume. If you mix up 'measure' and 'prepare', you lose an easy mark. Learn the one-line rule and you are safe.
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
A volumetric flask. It has a single mark on its neck, so filling up to that mark gives one exact, known total volume of solution.
Graduated (measuring) cylinder, burette and pipette. These three are used to measure or deliver the volume of liquids or solutions.
A burette is more accurate. A graduated cylinder gives a quick but rough reading, while a burette gives a precise, adjustable volume, which is why it is used in titrations.
A pipette delivers one fixed volume (like exactly 25 mL). A burette can deliver any volume up to its capacity because it has a tap you control.
No. It is a piece of glass apparatus, not a unit. It is used to prepare a solution of a fixed known volume, usually measured in mL, cm3 or L.
