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

Clear all

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.

9 practicals

Environment and sustainability · Soil

  1. Science and Technology K–6 · Year 3

    Soil in a jar: sand, silt and clay settle in layers

    Soil is a mixture of particles of different sizes, and larger particles sink through water faster, so shaking soil in water sorts it into visible layers.

    Practical, model not builtLow risk
  2. Science and Technology K–6 · Year 3

    Which soil holds the most water? Sand, clay and potting mix

    Different soils hold and drain water differently because of particle size, and the difference can be measured in millilitres.

    PracticalMedium risk
  3. Science and Technology K–6 · Year 6

    Rising salt: how salty water affects germinating seeds

    Salt in soil water is a physical condition that is rising in parts of Australia's farmland, and as its concentration increases fewer seeds germinate, they germinate later and their roots grow shorter.

    PracticalLow risk
  4. Science 7–10 · Year 7

    Brine shrimp hatching: the effect of salinity on an abiotic tolerance

    An abiotic factor sets a range within which an organism can complete part of its life cycle, and hatching success falls outside that range.

    PracticalLow risk
  5. Earth and Environmental Science 11–12 · Year 11

    Effect of salinity on seed germination and seedling growth

    Dissolved salt lowers the water potential of soil water, so germination and growth fall as salinity rises, the mechanism behind lost production on salinised land.

    PracticalLow risk
  6. Earth and Environmental Science 11–12 · Year 11

    Soil components by the jar settling test, the ribbon test and Stokes’ law

    A soil is a mixture of sand, silt, clay and organic matter whose grain sizes settle at rates set by Stokes’ law, so a shaken jar sorts the soil for you.

    Practical, model not builtLow risk
  7. Earth and Environmental Science 11–12 · Year 11

    Soil erosion prevention: bare, mulched and planted trays under a measured rainfall (syllabus practical)

    Cover protects soil from raindrop impact and slows runoff, so the same rain on a covered tray moves far less sediment than on bare ground.

    PracticalLow risk
  8. Earth and Environmental Science 11–12 · Year 11

    Soil pH and organic content by loss on ignition

    Soil forms from rock, air, water and living things together; its pH and organic fraction are measurable records of the biotic and chemical part of that formation.

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

    Growth of radish seedlings watered with saline water

    Plant growth falls once the salinity of the water a crop receives passes a threshold, and a class trial infers that threshold from its own data before checking it against published secondary data.

    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.

Open the teacher-led practicals