Australia's Science Forum

I am probably going to have to take leave over second term and maybe longer. My little school needs a sympathetic and kind labbie to take my spot. Neerim District Sec Coll. West Gippsland Vic. I am only 2 days a week. The actual job is easy as, but catching up, labelling, cleaning, helping out in th...

I wish I had seen this before they came home to my shed. We would use them for sure. The kids love using different and interesting equipment. Hopefully I can retrieve them.

just soak peppercorns in water, called peppercorn broth you get bacillus culture gram positive. I keep mine going in a flask with a cotton wool plug.

I have never standardised either, unless it was because I had time to join in a senior prac.

To stop the beaker going black, and to distribute the heat nicely. The "new" ones fall apart more quickly in my experience. They are also nice and stable.

Napisan ingredients:- 'disodium carbonate, compound with hydrogen peroxide (2:3) ≥10 - ≤30 15630-89-4 Reaction product of Benzenesulfonic acid, 4-C10-13-sec-alkyl derivs. and Benzenesulfonic acid, 4-methyl- and sodium hydroxide' from the SDS. It may need a risk assessment for your lab techs, but it ...

This is the best thing I've seen for ages. Thank you. I now have a copy with the H2O2 and in the recipe book.

Anna Z wrote: ↑07 Feb 2023, 13:45 Vic schools - Teacher demo only. We have gone 1 step further...lab staff only. Our Chem teachers are awesome but crazy.

With you there Anna, one of my teachers used to wait until I was not in and use a big enough bit to go bang and catch fire. No regard for the damage to the fumehood.

I still use glass ones as plastic will perish with things like vinegar. Most of the non caustic things seem to be alright in glass, and they are easier to keep clean. Tops free up with hot water. The white stuff around the caustic chemicals is caustic, so use PPE when you are cleaning it.

Showed the prac on morning TV today! Seriously, how many random people will be out there doing it today?

So not Vic yet. Interestingly, who inspects your school to implement the fines if you do have banned plastics? And who pays the fine? I was quite pedantic in getting on top of banned chemicals years ago, the Art room was a bit dodgy, and I was told you just get a load of warnings as the Vic gov isn'...

I still use them, I use a sturdy food storage container to store 6 x. I print labels off riskassess for the bottles and the container. I prefer the 50ml, the rubber teat/droppers do perish though. I get mine at the end of the year usually with budget remainder, or to flesh out an order. You can just...

Thank you. I don't know Orange IV though. Will look it up.

We got balances from Kogan, cheap, good and on batteries, good balances are left with their cords. Hotplates and power packs all use interchangable kettle cords, so I stack up the equipment and the cords are in a tub. I usually put the correct amount of cords with the apparatus on a trolley. The equ...

Luckily I inherited a lab with all the chemicals stored in their DG groups, and in the old days in Vic, colour coded- (coloured stickers on each container), it was compulsory. I keep all the chemicals even diluted ones, (in class sets in little containers), in their category in alphabetical order.

I have a prac request which we are doing that was sent through from another school. It requires a hydroxide ethanol solution. I know it is potassium hydroxide, but then different pages have methanol and ethanol, so either can be used I think. So the teacher and myself are not sure what the hydroxide...

All the food scraps from the canteen etc go to the worm farms and chickens, apart from chicken bones I guess. I used to bin it but our bins aren't too feral these days. It seems like there should be a better solution.

How do you all get rid of hearts, eyeballs etc after a dissection? I freeze all my waste but as our skips are collected monthly and I work part time, never sure how long the stuff is in the bins and if it will pong, or never breakdown in the tip if I wrap it with too much plastic etc. If it is ok fo...

They used to turn them up, but I haven't seen any for awhile so maybe they have changed.

It becomes less explosive as it ages and absorbs moisture. I bet if I got rid of it a teacher would ask for it next week.