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
13 practicals
Mathematics · Length, mass and capacity
Calibrating analogue and digital thermometers at two fixed points
Every thermometer carries systematic error; checking it at two fixed points, melting ice and boiling water corrected for the day’s air pressure, exposes that error and separates accuracy from resolution.
Practical, model not builtMedium riskHeavier or lighter: comparing masses by hefting
Mass is how much stuff is in an object, felt by hefting one object in each hand, and it is not the same as size.
PracticalLow riskLonger or shorter: comparing lengths end to end
Two lengths can only be compared when one end of each is lined up on the same baseline, so that the other ends show which is longer.
PracticalLow riskWhich holds more: filling and pouring
A container's capacity is how much it holds, found by filling it and pouring into another, and a tall container does not always hold more than a short one.
PracticalLow riskBalancing with cubes: mass in uniform informal units
The mass of an object can be measured by how many identical units balance it, and a heavier unit gives a smaller count.
PracticalLow riskHow many cups fill the jug: capacity with uniform units
Capacity is measured by counting how many times a smaller container fills a larger one, and the estimate can be improved after the first few cupfuls.
PracticalLow riskMeasuring with paperclips: uniform units end to end
A length is measured by laying identical units end to end with no gaps or overlaps, and a smaller unit gives a bigger count for the same length.
PracticalLow riskEstimate, then measure: metres, centimetres and millimetres
Metric units are fixed sizes that everyone shares, and an estimate improves when it is checked against a measurement and the error is recorded.
PracticalLow riskMake a kilogram: grams and kilograms on a balance and on scales
A kilogram is 1000 grams, and a litre of water has a mass of about one kilogram, so water and a balance give a feel for both units.
PracticalLow riskOne litre exactly: litres and millilitres
A litre is 1000 millilitres, and a container can be calibrated by pouring in known amounts and marking the level.
PracticalLow riskReading a thermometer: partial units on a scale
A scaled instrument has marks that stand for fixed steps, and a reading between two marks is estimated from how far along the gap the level sits.
PracticalLow riskWhich scales: choosing units and instruments for mass
Different scales read to different steps, so the unit and the instrument are chosen to suit the object, and grams, kilograms and tonnes convert by thousands.
PracticalLow riskMeasurement error: the same desk with three instruments and what it does to the area
Every measurement is an estimate with an absolute error of half the smallest unit on the instrument for each reading, and those errors carry through into any area or volume computed from them.
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.