Final answer:
A pipette is used to measure small amounts of liquids and can be either mechanical or manual. Different types of pipettes, like micropipettes and volumetric pipettes, along with graduated cylinders and burettes, are used depending on the volume and accuracy required in the measurement.
Step-by-step explanation:
The instrument used to measure small amounts of liquids, which can be either mechanical or manual, is a pipette. Pipettes are specially designed to measure and transfer very small volumes of liquid with high accuracy. There are various forms of pipettes used in a laboratory setting, like micropipettes, that are capable of measuring volumes as little as 2-20 μl (microliters), and volumetric pipettes, which are calibrated for a specific volume such as 3.00 ml. Other tools that chemists may use include the graduated cylinder for measuring larger volumes of liquid, and the burette (or buret), which is essential during titration experiments to accurately deliver variable volumes of liquid. Each of these tools has its specific use depending on the accuracy needed and the volume of liquid to be measured.