Question Video: Understanding the Risks Associated with Filling a Buret Chemistry • Third Year of Secondary School

Video Transcript

Why should a buret always be filled at eye level and never above? (A) To reduce the risk of splashing acid or base onto the eyes or face. (B) To know when the beaker or measuring cylinder is empty. (C) To make sure the solution is poured into the buret and not on the floor. (D) To watch the solution move down the buret. Or (E) to allow the buret to be filled while sitting down.

A buret is a piece of glassware used to deliver a volume of liquid. Burets are essential pieces of glassware when performing acid–base titrations, an experiment carried out to determine the concentration of a solution. When performing an acid–base titration, the buret is filled with an acid or a base that has a known concentration. Acids and bases are corrosive. They can irritate or burn eyes and skin. If we were to fill a buret above eye level, there is a greater risk of spilling or splashing the acid or base onto our eyes or face, which are below the beaker. To reduce this risk, burets should always be filled at eye level.

Looking at the answer choices, we see that the answer choice that best explains why a buret should always be filled at eye level and never above is answer choice (A), to reduce the risk of splashing acid or base onto the eyes or face.