Beaker Sizes
Authority: ISO 3819 standard laboratory beaker volume series (borosilicate glass)
Laboratory beakers are manufactured in a standard volume series set out in ISO 3819, commonly available from 50 mL up to 5000 mL and beyond, typically in low-form borosilicate glass with a pouring spout and approximate graduation markings. Mid-range sizes between 250 and 1000 mL are the most common for general mixing, heating, and reagent preparation.
| Nominal Volume | Typical Use |
|---|---|
| 50 mL | Small-scale reactions, reagent prep |
| 100 mL | Small-batch mixing |
| 250 mL | General-purpose lab standard size |
| 400 mL | Mid-scale mixing and heating |
| 600 mL | Mid-scale mixing and heating |
| 1000 mL | Large-batch mixing, bulk preparation |
| 2000 mL | Scale-up mixing and bulk preparation |
| 5000 mL | Bulk preparation and storage |
Design & Common Form
The now-familiar 'low form' beaker -- squat, wide-mouthed, with a small pouring lip often called a 'beak' -- was devised by the British chemist and instrument maker John Joseph Griffin, and it is still sometimes called a Griffin beaker in his honor. That spout is what distinguishes a beaker from a flask at a glance: it lets a chemist pour liquid out in a controlled stream without tipping the vessel to a steep angle, since beakers, unlike flasks, have no narrow neck to slow or direct a pour.
Most beakers are graduated -- marked along the side with volume lines -- but those markings are deliberately approximate rather than precise. A beaker is built as a general-purpose mixing and heating vessel, not a measuring instrument, so a chemist who needs an exact volume reaches for a graduated cylinder or volumetric flask instead. Modern beakers are made almost universally from borosilicate glass, valued for its resistance to thermal shock, which lets a beaker move from a hot plate to a room-temperature bench without cracking.