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.

10 practicals

Investigating Science 11–12 · Chemistry

  1. Investigating Science 11–12 · Year 11

    Acids and bases: indicator colour against pH readings in a dilution series

    Indicator colour is a qualitative observation and a pH meter reading is a quantitative one; a tenfold dilution raises the pH of a strong acid by one unit but of a weak acid by only about half a unit.

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

    Collecting primary data for the law of conservation of mass

    Mass is conserved in every reaction; an apparent gain or loss means matter crossed the boundary of the system, and even a sealed balloon can mislead a balance through buoyancy.

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

    Five white solids: identifying chemicals from observations and clues

    Colour changes, fizzing and warming are observations; the name of each powder is an inference, and some pairs cannot be told apart with the tests available.

    PracticalMedium risk
  4. Investigating Science 11–12 · Year 11

    Reactions of calcium carbonate: limewater, carbon dioxide and cave formation

    Carbon dioxide first precipitates calcium carbonate from limewater and then redissolves it as calcium hydrogencarbonate; heating drives the gas off and the solid returns, the chemistry that dissolves caves and builds stalactites.

    PracticalMedium risk
  5. Investigating Science 11–12 · Year 11

    The candle in a closed container: separating observation from inference

    What is seen (the flame goes out, the water rises) is an observation; “the oxygen was used up” is an inference, and a designed test shows the rise is caused mainly by heating and cooling of the trapped gas.

    PracticalMedium risk
  6. Investigating Science 11–12 · Year 11

    The ‘life’ of an alkaline cell under different loads

    A battery’s life is not one number: an alkaline cell delivers less charge at higher current, so an inference drawn from one test holds only for the load and schedule tested.

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

    Pressure and volume of a gas: Boyle’s law and a hidden systematic error

    For a fixed amount of gas at constant temperature, pressure times volume stays constant; air hidden in the connecting tube is a systematic error that bends the data until it is counted.

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

    Temperature and gas volume: Charles’s law and an estimate of absolute zero

    At constant pressure a gas’s volume is proportional to its absolute temperature, so extrapolating measured volumes to zero estimates absolute zero, and the equipment limits how good that estimate is.

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

    Temperature and reaction rate: stopwatch against light sensor

    The rate of the thiosulfate–acid reaction rises steeply with temperature, and the technology used to detect the end point, the eye with a stopwatch or a light sensor, decides how reliable the result is.

    PracticalMedium risk
  10. Investigating Science 11–12 · Year 12

    Testing a label claim: how much acid does an antacid tablet neutralise?

    An efficacy claim on a medicine label can be tested quantitatively: a back-titration measures how much acid one tablet neutralises and compares it with the stated active ingredient.

    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