Australia's Science Forum

Hi everyone! Has anyone got suggestions for year 8 chemical reactions they can do at home? So far I have come up with: Vinegar and milk Bicarb and vinegar Making pancakes/pikelets (to observe the creation of gas on heating) Making honeycomb (under adult supervision! - again rapid release of gas when...

I use the glass ones, clamp a hose on the end so the gas doesn't escape. To get rid of it bubble it out under water. I did end up finding the glass ones and I showed the teacher and he said “I’m not letting my kids have those!” :cheesy: At least he knows his class!! We ended up using the plastic on...

We have one star that one of the arms/prongs/whatever you want to call it has snapped off. I am assuming this is irreparable? Seems such a waste to throw it in the bin though…

Does anyone use the conductivity stars? They have little wells at the end of each metal rod for wax. I’m just wondering what methods you use to get the wax in there? Do you just scrape a bit off the cube of wax that comes with them? They are tiny!

How can you tell if the syringes are too “sticky” for measuring gas? Do you have some that are used for gas only or are your syringes all together? I have found the plastic ones here and I am worried the gas from the experiment won’t have enough pressure to move them. I don’t really have time to try...

Hi, I know this isn’t science lab related but I know there are many labbies who do food tech as well. What do you label everything with to keep items in the correct kitchen bays? We have a colour code system which I am redoing because some things have 3 or 4 different colours on them! Do you use nai...

Wayne wrote: ↑25 Jun 2021, 09:39 I would have thought it would need bi-carb to get the fizz from the acid base reaction.

That's my thought as well. I wonder if the kids at my previous school were ripped off all those years!! haha or maybe they did have the bi-carb and I just don't remember. It has been a while!

Hi All,
What's your sherbet recipe? Does it use bi-carb soda? From memory, we used to use citric acid, icing sugar and jelly crystals. Most recipes I've just googled have bi-carb soda as well. Does it make much difference?
Thanks for your ideas!
Rosalie

Well, I need to not forget about SSA when looking things up in the future! Thanks everyone I will check these out when I get a chance this week! Enjoy your countdown to holidays!!!

Thanks Milo. I mean the full lid for storing chemicals without the droppers in. I'm pretty sure I used to buy them from Serrata but I can't find them on the MTA website. I had forgotten about SSA so will check them out for slides and also Southern Biological for the test tube brushes. I remember yea...

I'm trying to find a few things that I want to buy and I'm having trouble sourcing them! Can anyone help me find a supplier for the following please? Dropper bottle caps - white screw caps (no teats) for 50ml amber dropper bottles Test tube brushes with the fluffy bit on the end Single cavity/concav...

Is your school part of AIS? Check their website for some online training courses too

https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/courses?categ ... chnologies

bigmack - that is a really well-worded response. If I was DET I would absolutely jump on that bandwagon! As Merilyn1 said, you need to all give feedback to the department. It's no use complaining amongst your peers. We have no power to change anything! And you're right melsid, it probably won't chan...

I know bell jars have come up many times before but I can't find the information I'm looking for. At my previous school, we had a bell jar plate that was plastic but had a rubber seal in a groove that the bell jar sat on. It also had a tap to lock it after creating the vacuum so you could turn off t...

Labbie wrote: ↑19 May 2021, 10:10 Well done Bigmack, but see that is art's love to read the science one

Labbie just keep scrolling down to page 46 to find science

We use OneNote for the orders. The teacher has her timetable set up and then types what pracs she wants in the period she wants. I access this everyday. I also have tabs set up for prac costs and quantities. Like Merilyn, I convert cups to grams or tablespoons to cups and also keep a record of quan...

RiskAssess has a lot of ingredients listed. I m trying to get the food tech teachers to use it and just ignore the "not to be consumed" phrase or whatever it is that comes up...

A teacher has made an oil and water mixture and filtered it into a glass cuvette. I can't get it clean! I'd have thought that hot soapy water would work, but it hasn't done a thing and I'm wary of trying something else without advice in case I scratch it. I've never had to clean a cuvette - in my p...

OK So this is a thread from a very long time ago, so I doubt the original contributors are still labbies, but I found it when looking for other information. I just read about this conservation of mass experiment the other day so thought I'd add my 2 cents worth in case anyone else comes across this ...

Merilyn1 wrote: ↑07 May 2021, 12:09 So, the stage was set - all teachers were on class. I snuck in with my bottle, zapped it a few times for one minute on 50% and voila! I have liquid agar. I did have to air out the staffroom before they got back

Great!!! I'm glad it worked out for you! haha they'll never know!