Australia's Science Forum

We use vegetable oil in a separating funnel as well, but I don't bother cleaning it. Just drain as much as possible and then label it "Use with oil", so the same one gets used each time. And the rusty nails - I've tried some different ideas this year, still to decide if any of them worked ...

Perhaps a hands-on prac, or demo, on the topic of Agar plates - preparation, use, what to avoid as well as safe disposal.

And yes - pracs that work would be great for everyone!

Yes it works really well for most glassware - but it doesn't take the 100ml measuring cylinders. Trust me, it's a great investment, so much more useful than the rack used in kitchen dishwashers, I don't know why I even keep the one that came with the washer! Actually, I have put that on top of the d...

Best thing I bought was the dishwasher test tube rack (from Haines I think, but others also stock it). It's expensive but has paid for itself several times over. I can fit so much more into the dishwasher, including the baskets Merilyn is talking about, which are also brilliant for things like petri...

Hear hear, jamo - they certainly didn't think it through when they changed the Syllabus. 70-80% of my time in Term 1 was spent on Chemistry, with a lot of overtime (unpaid). Everything else fell apart and it caused a lot of tension in the staff room (to say nothing of mine!)

You can put a 150ml beaker on them quite easily. 250ml is a bit larger than the pan. But the fact that they take up to 600g means you can tare and still fit a lot in the beaker! We've been using them for about a year, have had a few issues but pretty minor, especially when you consider the price. Ea...

I found these, bought a few and went back and got some more. They are not always suitable depending on the prac but are great! https://www.altronics.com.au/p/t2261-600g-digital-pocket-scales/ We usually use them for Seniors and have a "Please count Out and In" reminder (very easy to slip i...

That would probably be the easiest. Perhaps a brand name instead, eg Pasco? Or include an additional item "Pasco" and give its location as "Refer to Dataloggers"? We have a similar Excel spreadsheet, no pictures. As you say, melsid, we are probably the ones who use the list more ...

Thanks Prima . Yeah , that was where I was thinking . Do you know if there is a way to insert a picture into a cell in excel or google sheets ? You can insert a pic but it "sits" on the spread sheet and isn't "locked" to anything ..... I am only an excel beginner....and probably...

What about Google Sheets? You own the Master copy and share it with everyone who needs it. They can view, search etc but can't edit it. Looks like Excel with a few minor differences.

Definitely not Access - that's a huge overkill!

I don't believe it is updated - Lead nitrate is still shown as okay for years 7-12

Labbie, is that true? Is it really ready and finished? I didn't notice any change either. Surely we should have been notified (and rewarded for our patience :whistling2: ) In fact, I am checking my disposal methods and cannot find any reference to Iron ii chloride / Ferrous chloride (under both &quo...

1. 1000
2. 27
3. 15
4. No but, with notice, a helper for the day can be organised at crazy times. SLSOs offer a few hours when they are not busy. But nearly always on my own.
5. No
6. Yes

I have found Labtek to be consistently reasonable.

It's Presentation and Award Day today, feels like it is the last day of term (wishful thinking!)

Happy Holidays and spend plenty of time on yourselves - we deserve it!

We recently bought Pasco pH meters from Cidertech House, but have to say that we're not that happy with them. When you put the caps back onto the sensors, it seems to bubble air into the body of the probe, half of them are nearly empty now. And one of them seems to be beyond repair - we tried calibr...

I believe it is coming next year. They started in 1999 did a very large pick up, then after that it was small ones. But through so many labbies asking for a free pick up, we have been lead to believe it will be next year. Any idea how we can ask for one of the free pick ups? Is there someone we can...

I would say it is now late 2018. Does that mean the CSIS is nearly ready??!!

Good idea. Guess where I am going tomorrow!