YOU just look at the lowest point of the meniscus!
1.read the bottom of the curve 2. you must read the meniscus at eye level
As the diameter of the container decreases, the meniscus becomes more pronounced. The meniscus may be convex (curving upward) or concave (curving downward). Most of the time you will find that the meniscus is concave. The most notable exception is the meniscus that forms from mercury. When taking measurement readings it is important that the reading is done properly. The following rules must be adhered to: I. Read the meniscus at eye level. Do not read the meniscus from above or below eye level. Significant measurement errors may occur II. Read the bottom of a concave meniscus and the top of a convex meniscus.
A graduated cylinder or a buret must be read at the meniscus, which is the curved surface of a liquid in a container. Reading at the bottom of the meniscus helps to minimize parallax error and ensures a more accurate measurement.
You *don't* read the line where the fluid meets the glass. You look past it, to the middle of the downward curve in the fluid, the "meniscus" and read from that.
The meniscus of a liquid is read at the bottom of the curve that forms at the liquid's surface in a graduated cylinder or a similar container. To determine the volume of the liquid accurately, it is important to read the measurement at the lowest point of the meniscus.
The answer depends on the liquid, or more specifically, how the surface tension in the liquid affects the meniscus. It should be the top of the meniscus for liquids such as mercury but the bottom for liquids such as water or alcohol.
The curved line that a liquid creates in a graduated cylinder is called the meniscus. This curvature occurs due to surface tension and the adhesive forces between the liquid and the walls of the cylinder. In most cases, the meniscus is concave, meaning it dips downward at the edges, and it is important to read the measurement at the bottom of the meniscus for accuracy.
A meniscus line is the little line that you have at the top of a liquid. If you fill a glass up with water, the line that seems to sit at the top of the water that you see when you look at the glass at eye level is the meniscus line.
The "bottom of a curved line" made by the liquid in a graduated cylinder could be called the "measuring line" or "reference line" in the application of that piece of labratory equipment. The curved surface of the liquid itself is called the meniscus, and we look to the bottom of the meniscus to make our reading as to the volume of the liquid in the graduated cylinder. The liquid in the cylinder "grabs" the sides of the cylinder and "pulls itself up" just a bit, and that creates the curve in the surface of the liquid. And that curve, the meniscus (which is from the Greek word for crescent), leaves us with a problem: where do we "read" the volume marked off by the graduations along the side of the cylinder? And the answer is, "At the bottom of the meniscus."
To read the volume of a buret accurately, ensure the meniscus of the liquid is at eye level, read the bottom of the meniscus, and record the volume to the nearest 0.01 mL.
The most accurate way to read a graduated cylinder is to place it on a flat surface. Bend down so you are eye level with the Meniscus Line, the line that is formed by the border between the unfilled portion of the cylinder and the top of the liquid. The very lowest part of this line is where you read the measurement. The markings are in whole numbers, 1, 2, 3, etc., with 10 lines between each number.
meniscus