How To: Use a Bunsen Burner in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

Watch this video on how to use a Bunsen burner in the chemistry lab. The Bunsen burner consists of a barrel of an air-regulator, a gas-regulator, and a base.

Insufficient air supply causes a yellow flame of incomplete combustion. The experimental apparatus gets covered with soot if it is heated with a yellow flame. In extreme cases, carbon monoxide poisoning might occur.

Reduce the air first and reduce the gas next. The reversed operation might cause a backfire in the barrel. If a backfire occurs, immediately turn off the main gas cock without touching the barrel and cool the burner completely with a wet cloth.