Australia's Science Forum

Hi Sue, We use bok choy instead of celery. It comes in twos from the supermarket & & I put one in eosin & the other in methylene blue. Give it a try - it's softer than celery making it easier for the students to get a thinner section & the methylene blue shows the phloem structures b...

Hi Ian,
I've found an old catalogue that may be of use. It's from Aust Entomological Supplies Pty Ltd.
I'm not sure if the details are current but a search on Google could be the go.
PO Box 250
Bangalow 2479
PH : 02 6684 7650
Fax : 6684 7188
Hope this helps

Thanks ri & Jazz,

I did buy a 5l flask but have only used it once. I was storing the leftover 2.5L but maybe I could just neutralise it & tip down the sink.

I'll keep looking but thanks anyway

Judy

Hi All,

Does anyone know where I can buy 3L volumetric flasks from?
I'm often asked for 2.5L of a soln to be made volumetrically & having to make 2 lots & then mix them is a real pain.

Any suggestions gratefully accepted.
Judy

Hi Suzyr,

We always use 0.2M rather than 0.1M, but the recipe is as follows:

0.2M Potassium dichromate
Acidified with 25% Sulfuric acid at 1g acid/10ml dichromate

Cheers

Hi Buggman, I have a Simpson Silencio that I've had for a few years, that works pretty well.It was only a cheap one around $600 I think. Some things have to be handwashed regardless but generally it's pretty good. I have bought baskets from Science Supply & wash the test tubes in those, I can gi...

We store our rock samples in wine cask boxes & have done for years.
Just cut out the side containing the tap & that then becomes the top.I am replacing some of them now after 17 yrs, so they've lasted well.
Some of the rock specimens are fairly big & these boxes hold a lot.
Cheers

A number of years ago our school changed over to LPG. We had to pay someone to solder over the existing holes and then redrill them with a finer drill bit.They did a pretty ordinary job with most of the holes off centre and some of the bunsens had to be thrown out. The LPG flame is smaller and is su...

Hi Estelle, If you want to keep turtles you will need to obtain a license from Nat. Parks & Wildlife. They have various categories of license depending on which species you want to keep. If the turtle you mentioned is a common one it's probably a Class 1 licence. From memory it's gone up to $60....

Hi Carolg,

You should be able to use your school's geiger counter to test the sources.
Save having to pay someone else to do it for you. You'll soon know if they've lost their oomph.

Cheers
Judy

Thanks Carole F & Beverly.
I'll give the extra nail polish a try.

Judy

I used to buy tapers from Q stores but haven't seen them lately.

I instead cut some paddlepop sticks lengthwise with a pair of scissors & these seem to work just as well. Saves having to scrape wax off the benches too.

Judy

I tried to make some prepared slides of stomates using nail polish to peel the guard cells off a leaf. This worked well as a wet mount but when the time came to fix the cover slip, the Depex mounting medium I used dissolved the nail polish and I ended up with no specimen! Does anyone have an alterna...

I usually make up a bulk lot of N.A. in a large beaker & once dissolved I then transfer it to test tubes.Sometimes the biology students pour there own plates but I mostly use boiling tubes which holds enough agar for 2 plates. Just fill to the white mark & then cover with foil. I then pressu...

Hey Liz, You could try using the little plastic containers that hold silica gel that come in vitamin bottles etc. I tape them to the inside lid of the bottle with the opening facing up. I periodically dry them in the incubator & then just retape them. I find it helps to keep most chemicals dry. ...

Hi Loopy, Knowing what you're doing & why you're doing it makes the world of difference. I completed the Biology Technician Certificate - 2yr F/T & upgraded to the Assos. Dip App Sc ( Biological Techniques) before I got the job here.The only things I didn't learn at TAFE were geology & h...

I had heard somewhere it was possible to evaporate formaldehyde by pouring it into a thin stream onto the ground outside,but I wasn't too keen on that. Much safer to evaporate it in the fume cupboard.

Cheers

Thanks for that Robb.

I presume 2 - phenoxyethanol is readily available from the usual suppliers.

How is the original formaldehyde solution disposed of when switching to 2 - phenoxyethanol? I wouldn't like to put it down the sink.

I must admit I've never heard of phenoxytol. In the 17yrs I've been here I don't think anyone has ever asked for it. It sounds like a good alternative to ethanol or formaldehyde. What about new specimens, are they injected with this mixture?
Could someone please tell me where to get further info.

I try & do any shopping on the way to school or on the way home, that way I'm not making a special trip into town. I live 30km from work & if I have to shop then I just get to work a bit later. I have my own petty cash & claim on my tax for the petrol.