Triple Beam Balances

Triple Beam Balance for Easy Hands-On Learning

Help students learn with the same triple-beam balance model used in chemistry, pharma, and biology labs.

A rugged Adam Equipment triple-beam balance gives you the tools to help students gain hands-on experience with the concepts of mass and weight.

It’s the same triple beam balance: 

• Chemists use to measure exact quantities of chemicals for their reactions. Triple beam balances do the job when the precision (and cost) of an analytical balance isn’t needed.
• Materials scientists use to measure material weight baselines accurately. 
• QC engineers use to spot check the quality of items in production.
• Biologists use to weigh small animals, plant samples, or other biological specimens.

 
Your students have a future in science. And the skills that come from learning on these basic balance scales are invaluable.

A triple beam scale on every workstation

Your students learn by doing, not by watching passively. They grow by engaging their tactile learning skills. 

Getting them familiar with a triple beam balance gives you a tangible way to bring abstract scientific concepts to life.

“Exactly what we wanted for our new science lab.”

Nancy, Teacher, Grade 10-12 Biology.

The Adam Equipment triple-beam balance are priced lower than any other quality model. 

It’s how you put a quality instrument in front of every student in your class so they’re engaged throughout their time in your classroom. 

Your classroom can have the same triple beam balances a profitable QC lab has and your students will feel respected. 

Price out triple beam balances for your class here

How to calibrate a triple beam balance

Calibrating your triple beam balance is quick and easy. It could even be an activity to do with your students.

1. Test the calibration with a weight with a known mass to verify if yours needs calibration (you can just remove some of the counterweight before the lesson, so you know they’re out of whack).
2. Place the mass on the pan and adjust the sliding weights to determine how far out of calibration it is.
3. When you (or they) are certain it needs calibration…
4. Remove the screw on the side, under the pan.
5. Unscrew the weighing pan to access the weights inside.
6. If the weight’s too high, remove some. If it’s too low, add weight - anything that has mass. Sinkers from your fishing tackle box or spare beads from your dry bath. Or your students phones during class time. 
7. Once the weight is correct, simply add the pan and screw back.

What is a triple beam balance?

It’s a scientific scale. And it measures mass very precisely. Much more precisely than the scale you stand on in the bathroom at home.

It works like a seesaw. You put something on the pan, then you move weight along the beams to balance whatever you placed in the pan. The measurements are very easy to read, because all you’re doing is balancing weight. And there’s a pointer to tell you exactly when it’s balanced. 

Because it requires no electricity, near-zero maintenance, can be calibrated quickly, and measures precisely, it’s used in lab settings of every type. 

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How to use a triple beam balance

Using a triple beam balance is simple and intuitive (that’s also why they’re so popular - they're easier than any other scientific weight scale).

1. Put the object you plan to weigh in the center of the pan.
2. Adjust the largest weight first. Slide it along the beam until the pointer drops below the zero mark. Then, move it back one notch so the pointer is above zero again.
3. Adjust the next smallest weight in the same way. 
4. Move the smallest weight along the beam until the pointer is level with the zero mark.

How to read a triple beam balance measurement

So you balanced the weights, and the pointer is level with the zero mark. Where do you look for your measurement?

You look to basic math!

• Once the pointer is at the zero mark, and you have adjusted all your weights, you can read the measurement by adding up the values indicated by each of the three weights. The sum of these values is the mass of the object.
• In the image here, the weight is about 255.9 grams.