Lab

See the idea. Put it to the test.

956 practicals from Kindergarten to Year 12, in 9 subjects. A practical gives the idea, what you need, the steps, what you should see and a safety card. A teacher-led practical gives the idea and its hazards; its method is for tutors on the learning platform.

Review

Reviewed before publication (owner’s confirmation, 24 September 2026). That covers every practical here, and a practical’s page lists the sources its author read.

A safety card on every page

The risk, who supervises and the hazards. The 38 teacher-led practicals show their idea and hazards here; their materials, steps and sources, and any result, control or note that states a number or an amount, are for tutors and administrators on the learning platform.

School laboratory, not for home

207 practicals are medium or high risk. Each says so on its page: In a school laboratory, with a teacher supervising, under the school's risk assessment. Not for home.

Curriculum references

Each practical lists the NSW syllabus outcomes and Australian Curriculum v9 codes it supports. They are references, not a verified or complete curriculum alignment.

Find a practical

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A practical is carried out at the bench, in the classroom or outdoors. A practical with its model not built stands on its own; the page says where a step mentions the model. A calculation and data practical works from published figures by hand, with a calculator or in a spreadsheet. No Lab page includes an interactive model; the Concept Studio holds the demonstrations.

5 practicals

Investigating Science 11–12 · Physics · Waves, sound and light

  1. Investigating Science 11–12 · Year 11

    Distance and exposure: the inverse square law measured with light

    Intensity from a small source falls with the square of the distance, a law whose predictions a measurement can test, and the reason distance from a radiation source is a basic way to reduce exposure.

    Practical, model not builtLow risk
  2. Investigating Science 11–12 · Year 12

    Diffraction as a measuring tool: a CD, a laser and an X-ray diffraction analogue

    A regular pattern too fine to see spreads light into a predictable pattern, so measuring the pattern reveals the spacing; this is the principle that let X-ray diffraction reveal the helical structure of DNA.

    Practical, model not builtMedium risk
  3. Investigating Science 11–12 · Year 12

    Refraction to telescope: building a two-lens telescope

    The laws of refraction that shape a lens also fix a telescope’s design: two converging lenses separated by the sum of their focal lengths magnify by the ratio of those lengths.

    Practical, model not builtMedium risk
  4. Investigating Science 11–12 · Year 12

    Testing a sunscreen claim: how much UV gets through a thin layer?

    An SPF is measured at a set thickness of sunscreen; a thinner layer lets through far more UV, so testing the claim shows why the amount applied matters as much as the number on the tube.

    Practical, model not builtLow risk
  5. Investigating Science 11–12 · Year 12

    Testing the Doppler prediction with a swinging buzzer and a phone

    A source moving toward a listener is heard at a higher frequency and moving away at a lower one; a swinging buzzer and a spectrum app turn Doppler’s prediction into a measured test.

    Practical, model not builtMedium risk

For tutors and administrators

The materials and steps of every teacher-led practical are on the learning platform, with the safety card first. Sign in with a tutor or administrator account to read them.

Open the teacher-led practicals