#1 Science Forum For Lab Technicians

bigmack wrote: 11 Mar 2025, 10:07 Woow , yeah that is expensive . Would be interesting to see if you still need to bring it to the boil .

This is the stuff I’ve been using lately . From Asian section in Woolies . Cost about $2 . Works well in all pracs .

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With inflation, now $5.50 from Woolworths!

Last year grade 8's didn't do any pracs in the chemistry unit as I wasn't there. Obviously they found chemistry very boring. The other grades the teachers had to get it themselves, none of the other grades were doing chemistry.

This year the teachers had to have their pracs in by the end of term 1 ...

In 2023 I took 3 weeks LSL and was replaced. The replacement didn't do a great job.
I had all of 4th term off last year (2024) with an unexpected ilness and no one came in and did my job.
This is my first week back this term after another 3 weeks LSL and wasn't replaced.

I am the onlt Lab Tech at ...

Another Risk Assess question .

Is it possible for me to change the sign off ?
Seems quite regularly that the teacher mistakenly signs the Lab tech signature instead of the Teacher . I can pretend and sign off as the teacher ....just to get the two signatures there .

But is there another way ...

RiskAssess has 0.1M lead nitrate as a teacher only chemical, up to 0.03M for 11-12 and only 0.003M for 7-12.

Labbie wrote: 16 Oct 2024, 11:26 Sterilize with Milton (Great for baby's bottles etc) and reuse, for solutions, label them of course.

Wondering why they need to be sterilised? I've never sterilised a bottle for solutions. Am I missing something?

And you can also buy slime made from sodium tetraborate from retail stores.

LabTechBrooke wrote: 23 Sep 2024, 13:51 No one double-checks what we normally sign anyway.

Until something goes wrong!

Last year we had a minor incident with vinegar getting in a students eye. I had to produce the signed riskassessment.

Thanks. I was looking to replace my current ones that can't go in a dishwasher (other than that nothing wrong with them and will be keeping them for other uses) and didn't want to get them and be no better off.

We had those Grey shallow trays at old school to Rosalie .
Apparently they were Photographic development trays .

I couldn't find the original ones for Love nor Money but I did find some Newer ones .They all had a small pourer on one corner . I thought they looked strange but the Bio teacher said ...

Here is a presentation from the 2020 TALM Conference about radioactive sources and disposal in Tasmania. Might be helpful to you.

To stop matches going down drain and many other things.
Get a sink drain strainer thing for Bunnings and just a couple of drops of hot glue to hold it in place.


Exactly what I did to every sink in Science. The GA and I got sick of fishing pens, pencils and other stuff out of them


This ...

RosalieL wrote: 28 Aug 2024, 12:49 viewtopic.php?f=26&t=451/tech-tray-with-mat.html this one (if the link works)? How frequently do you need to replace the mats?

Says, "The requested topic does not exist"

Phenolphthalein seems to be the standard when titrating. It is worth noting though taht the colour change isn't at neutral either with phenolphthalein.

AS you can buy Biuret Reagent from science suppliers, I'm sure it is perfectly fine to send to the classroom mixed together.

I've attached what we do. It is a bit more intensive than the zip lock bag method, but it eliminates the use of bags which is good for the environment.

Thank you for the replies. I have passed the info on.

I have been asked to post this on here by another school.

The following is the procedure that was put on Riskassess by the teacher requesting the prac. It is to be a teacher demo.

1. Add a third to half of a teaspoon of solid CuCl2 to a medium beaker (250 mL).
2. Add approximately 5 mL of ethanol ...

Southern Biological sell them (they have them named as autoclaves).

Also from Science Assist,

Laboratory pressure cookers must contain a pressure gauge, a control and pressure relief valve and be
able to reach a pressure of 15psi (103kPa) and a temperature of 121°C.

These sterilisers can be purchased from biological suppliers however costs vary and schools need to ...