If you have fluid in the pipet tip and want to expel it all, should you only depress the plunger to the first stop or should you continue on to the second stop?

why not choose the other option? what could happen?

You should go to the second stop. If you only go to the first stop all the fluid won't expel and there will be a little bit left in the pipette tip. (You always go to the first stop when picking up fluid and always go to to second stop when expelling fluid)

thanks

To expel all the fluid in the pipette tip, you should depress the plunger to the first stop and then continue to the second stop. This is because the first stop represents the maximum volume, whereas pushing past the first stop to the second stop enables you to fully expel the remaining liquid.

Not choosing the option to continue to the second stop can lead to a few potential issues:

1. Incomplete expulsion: If you only depress the plunger to the first stop and stop there, it means you're leaving a small amount of liquid in the pipette tip. This can result in inaccurate volume measurements or inconsistent results in your experiments.

2. Contamination risk: Leaving residual liquid in the pipette tip can increase the risk of cross-contamination between samples or reagents. This can compromise the integrity of your experiment and lead to inaccurate or misleading data.

3. Pipette malfunction: Failing to use the pipette correctly by not engaging the second stop may affect the performance and reliability of the pipette over time. The internal components of the pipette may wear out more quickly, resulting in inaccurate or inconsistent volume measurements.

Therefore, it is important to always depress the plunger to the first stop and then proceed to the second stop to ensure complete expulsion of the liquid and accurate results.