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
9 practicals
Environment and sustainability · Natural hazards
Wattle seeds and heat: why some Australian plants need fire
Many wattle seeds have a hard, waterproof coat that keeps water out until heat, such as the heat of a bushfire, cracks it, so a change in a physical condition decides when a new generation starts to grow.
Teacher-led practicalPracticalMedium riskBuilding and testing a simple seismometer
A mass that lags behind a shaking frame records the ground motion, the principle of every seismometer from a pendulum and pen to a digital sensor.
PracticalLow riskLiquefaction: saturated sand losing strength when shaken
Shaking raises the water pressure between sand grains until they no longer touch, so saturated ground behaves as a liquid and buildings sink or tilt.
PracticalLow riskLocating an earthquake from S minus P times at three stations
P waves outrun S waves, so the gap between their arrivals at a station gives its distance to the earthquake, and three distances fix the epicentre.
Practical, model not builtLow riskMagma viscosity: flow rate of model lavas and what it means for eruption style
Silica-rich magma is far more viscous than basaltic magma, traps gas and erupts explosively, while runny basalt degasses and flows.
PracticalLow riskMapping a sinking plate: earthquake focus depths across the Java Trench and a mid-ocean ridge
At a convergent boundary earthquake foci deepen with distance from the trench along the sinking slab, while at a divergent boundary they stay shallow, so a depth cross-section maps the boundary’s shape and the depth of its hazard.
Practical, model not builtLow riskRunoff from a model catchment: how land cover changes the flood peak
Paving and clearing raise the fraction of rain that runs off at once, so the same storm produces a higher, earlier flood peak from a built-up catchment.
Practical, model not builtLow riskSlope stability: angle of repose of dry, damp and saturated sediment
Loose material stands only up to its angle of repose, and a little water raises that angle while more water can lower it again, which is part of why heavy rain triggers landslides.
PracticalLow riskTsunami speed and water depth in a tray, and the shallow-water wave law
A tsunami is a shallow-water wave whose speed depends on depth alone, so it crosses the deep ocean at aircraft speed and slows, steepens and grows as it reaches the coast.
Practical, model not builtLow 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.