Free Printable Lab Equipment Crossword Puzzle

Print a criss-cross lab equipment crossword in which every clue says what the tool is used for, answer key included.

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Lab Equipment Crossword

Read each clue and write the answer in the squares that start at its number, one letter in each square.

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Answer key: Lab Equipment Crossword

1M2C3TRIPODLRAR4MICROS5CO6PEPRYE7HLTO8MA9GNIFIERT10BONIPEG11LDDLAGEEIAKLNRS12TWEEZERSHERS

Across 3 TRIPOD · 4 MICROSCOPE · 8 MAGNIFIER · 12 TWEEZERS

Down 1 MIRROR · 2 CLAMP · 5 CYLINDER · 6 PETRIDISH · 7 HOTPLATE · 9 GOGGLES · 10 BEAKER · 11 LENS

Next step Print the chemistry crosswordFind lab equipment words in a word search

All 128 clues

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Glassware 20

  • Ampoule Tiny glass container sealed shut to keep air away from its contents
  • Beaker Straight-sided glass cup with a spout, used for holding and stirring liquids
  • Bell jar Dome set over an experiment so that the air inside can be pumped out
  • Burette Long marked tube with a tap, used to let out an exact volume of liquid
  • Condenser Cooled tube used to turn a hot vapor back into a liquid
  • Cuvette Tiny see-through container that holds a liquid while light is shone through it
  • Desiccator Sealed container with a drying agent inside, used to keep a sample dry
  • Dropper Short tube with a squeezable rubber top, used to add liquid a drop at a time
  • Erlenmeyer German chemist's family name on the cone-shaped vessel used for swirling a liquid
  • Flask Glass vessel with a wide body and a narrow neck, used when a liquid must be swirled
  • Funnel Cone with a stem, used to pour a liquid into a narrow opening
  • Pipette Slim tube used to move a measured amount of liquid from one container to another
  • Retort Old-style glass vessel whose long neck bends downward, used to distill
  • Stirring rod Plain length of solid glass used for mixing
  • Stopcock Small valve used to control the flow of a liquid or a gas
  • Stopper Plug of rubber or cork pushed into a neck to seal it
  • Test tube Finger-shaped glass, used to hold or warm a small sample
  • Vial Small bottle used to store a sample
  • Wash bottle Squeeze it and a jet of water leaves its nozzle for rinsing
  • Watch glass Shallow curved dish used to evaporate a liquid or to hold a solid being weighed

Measuring Tools 22

  • Balance Instrument used to find the mass of an object
  • Barometer Used to find the pressure of the air
  • Calipers Pair of jaws used to find the thickness or the diameter of an object
  • Calorimeter Used to find the heat given off or taken in by a reaction
  • Colorimeter Used to find how much light a colored solution absorbs
  • Cylinder Tall marked tube, called graduated, used to find the volume of a liquid
  • Data logger Box that stores the readings of a sensor by itself, hour after hour
  • Hydrometer Floating instrument used to find the density of a liquid
  • Hygrometer Used to find how much water vapor is in the air
  • Indicator Substance added to a solution so that a color change gives away an acid or a base
  • Litmus Dye on paper strips, used to tell an acid from a base
  • Meter stick Rigid rod, 100 centimeters long, used to find a length
  • Micrometer Screw gauge used to find the size of very small parts
  • pH meter Instrument with an electrode, used to find how acidic or basic a solution is
  • Protractor Semicircular drawing tool used to find the size of an angle
  • Ruler Marked straight strip used to find a short length
  • Spring scale Hook on a coiled metal strip, used to find a force or a weight
  • Stopwatch Timepiece used to find how long something takes
  • Syringe Plunger in a tube, used to draw up and push out a liquid or a gas
  • Tape measure Long, flexible marked strip used to find a distance
  • Thermometer Used to take a temperature
  • Timer Clock set to count off the minutes of a reaction

Burners, Stands and Hand Tools 24

  • Autoclave Pressure chamber whose hot steam is used to sterilize equipment
  • Brush Bristles on a wire handle, used to scrub the inside of narrow glassware
  • Bunsen burner Lit with a spark, it gives one adjustable gas flame for heating
  • Centrifuge Spinning machine in which the denser part of a sample is driven to the bottom of its tube
  • Clamp Screw-tight grip used to hold glassware firmly in place
  • Clay triangle Wire frame with three ceramic-covered sides, used to cradle a small cup over a flame
  • Crucible Small cup used to heat a substance to a very high temperature
  • Filter paper Porous sheet used to strain fine solid particles out of a liquid
  • Hot plate Electric heater with a flat top, used to warm liquids without a flame
  • Iron ring Metal hoop on a rod, used to support glassware above the bench
  • Mortar Heavy bowl used for grinding a solid to powder
  • Oven Heated chamber used to dry glassware and samples
  • Pestle Club-shaped tool used to crush and grind a solid in a bowl
  • Rack Holder with a row of holes that keeps narrow glassware standing up
  • Ring stand Upright metal rod on a heavy base, the backbone that clamps are fixed to
  • Sieve Mesh used to separate particles by size
  • Spatula Flat little blade for scooping a powder from its jar
  • Stir bar Small coated rod dropped into a liquid, where a turning magnetic field whirls it
  • Striker Used to make a spark that lights a gas burner
  • Tongs Used to grip and lift things too hot to touch
  • Tripod Stand on three legs that holds a container above a flame
  • Tubing Flexible rubber pipe used to carry gas to a burner
  • Water bath Heated tub in which samples sit to stay at one temperature
  • Wire gauze Mesh mat that sits between a flame and glassware to even out the heat

Microscope and Life Science 20

  • Agar Jelly made from red algae, used in a dish to feed growing microbes
  • Aquarium Clear tank used to keep water plants and animals
  • Cover slip Small square of very thin glass that rests on top of a specimen and holds it flat
  • Eyepiece Part at the top of a viewing instrument, the one you look through
  • Forceps Hinged instrument used to grasp and hold small objects
  • Incubator Warm cabinet used to keep growing cultures at a steady temperature
  • Loop Wire tool, called an inoculation one, used to pick up and spread microbes
  • Magnifier Curved glass in a frame with a handle, used for a closer look
  • Microscope Used to see things too small for the eye alone
  • Microtome Used to cut extremely thin slices of material for viewing
  • Objective Part nearest the specimen, used to gather its light into an image
  • Petri dish Shallow lidded container used to grow bacteria and molds
  • Quadrat Square frame used to mark off a patch of ground for counting plants
  • Scalpel Knife with a small, razor-sharp blade, used to dissect
  • Slide Thin flat piece of glass used to hold a specimen for viewing
  • Stage Flat platform used to hold the specimen while you view it
  • Stain Dye used to make the parts of a sample stand out
  • Swab Wad of cotton on a short stick, used to collect a sample
  • Terrarium See-through case used to grow small plants in soil
  • Tweezers Small pincers used to pick up tiny objects

Physics Lab 25

  • Air track Rail with tiny holes, used to let gliders move with almost no friction
  • Ammeter Used to find the current in a circuit, in amperes
  • Battery Used to supply a circuit with electric current
  • Breadboard Base used to build a trial circuit without soldering
  • Bulb Small electric lamp that lights when current flows through it
  • Coil Conductor wound in a spiral, used to make an electromagnet
  • Compass Magnetized needle used to find north
  • Electroscope Early detector of electric charge; the classic school kind has two thin gold leaves
  • Fuse Safety link that burns out when a circuit carries too much current
  • Laser Device used to give a narrow, straight beam of light
  • Lens Clear curved disk used to bring rays of light to a focus
  • Magnet Used to pull on iron and steel without touching them
  • Mirror Smooth surface used to reflect a beam of light
  • Motor Machine used to turn electrical energy into motion
  • Multimeter One meter used to read voltage, current or resistance
  • Oscilloscope Used to draw a changing voltage as a graph over time
  • Pendulum Weight hung from a pivot and set swinging to study motion
  • Prism Three-sided block of glass used to fan white light out into a rainbow
  • Pulley Grooved wheel that a cord runs over, used to raise a weight
  • Ramp Tilted flat surface used to roll carts down
  • Resistor Component used to reduce the current in a circuit
  • Ripple tank Shallow tray of water used to show how waves behave
  • Switch Used to open or close a circuit
  • Tuning fork Two-pronged steel bar used to sound one steady pitch
  • Voltmeter Meter used to read the potential difference, in volts, between two points

Safety Gear 17

  • Apron Bib-like cover worn so that spills land on it and not on your clothes
  • Extinguisher Hand-held tank whose spray puts out a small fire
  • Eyewash Fountain used to flush a chemical out of the eyes
  • Face shield Clear visor worn to guard the eyes, nose and mouth from splashes
  • Fire alarm Loud bell or horn used to tell everyone to leave the building
  • Fire blanket Flame-resistant sheet used to smother a small blaze
  • First aid kit Box of bandages and dressings kept ready for small injuries
  • Fume hood Ventilated cabinet used when a chemical gives off harmful gases
  • Gloves Worn to keep chemicals off the hands
  • Goggles Worn to keep chemical splashes out of the eyes
  • Lab coat Long, button-up cover worn over everyday clothes at the bench
  • Label Sticker on a container that names the contents and warns of hazards
  • Mask Covering worn over the nose and mouth to keep out dust
  • Mitt Thick padded hand covering used to pick up hot things
  • Sash Sliding glass front of a ventilated cabinet, pulled down as a barrier
  • Shower Station used to wash a chemical spill off a person's head and body
  • Sink Basin with a tap, used to wash hands and rinse glassware

How this list was compiled: Clues written for this site for a middle or high school science lab. What each piece of equipment is used for was checked in its English Wikipedia article (en.wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA 4.0), and the names in Wiktionary (en.wiktionary.org), in October 2026. No brand is named. The clues describe equipment; they are not safety instructions, so follow your own school's lab rules. Licence: own work

How it works

This free printable lab equipment crossword puzzle is a vocabulary crossword for the first weeks of a science course, when students learn the name and the job of each piece on the bench.

Read the full guide

Six sets by bench

Easy Lab Words opens the page: Beaker, Funnel, Tongs, Goggles. Glassware runs from Pipette and Burette to Desiccator. Measuring Tools has Balance, Calipers and Hydrometer. Burners, Stands and Hand Tools has Crucible, Ring stand and Mortar. Microscope and Life Science has Slide, Forceps and Petri dish. Physics Lab has Prism, Ammeter and Tuning fork. Safety Gear has Fume hood and Eyewash.

Clued by use

A Burette lets out an exact volume of liquid; a Wire gauze evens out the heat of a flame under glassware. A two-word name such as Test tube goes in the grid without its space.

  • Hand out the Glassware puzzle with the real pieces on the bench, so students can pick up each one as they solve its clue.

Questions and answers

Does the lab equipment crossword print with an answer key?

Yes. Press Print: the puzzle and its clues come out first and the answer key prints last, as a filled grid, on Letter or A4.

What grade is the lab equipment crossword for?

Middle school and high school, in our judgment, which is not a published standard. Easy Lab Words suits grades 5 to 7; Physics Lab and the longer glassware names suit a first chemistry or physics course.

Does the crossword include lab safety equipment?

Yes. Safety Gear has Goggles, Gloves, Apron, Lab coat, Fume hood, Eyewash and Fire blanket. The clues are vocabulary practice and do not replace your school's own lab safety rules.

Where is the list of lab equipment names and uses?

Under the puzzle, in Show all clues and answers: every name with its use, set by set.

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