Old rhyming memory trick for telling whether cut pieces of silvery metal sheet are made of Aluminium or Zinc? “Aluminium is dull and grey, Zinc is shiny and bright all day. Drop them on the lab bench neat, Aluminium goes ‘tink,’ zinc goes ‘clink.’” Aluminium tends to be dull, while Zinc is shinier. When dropped, […]

Suggestions: ·       Cut up lino has many uses ·       Cork tiles from Bunnings work well ·       Wood boards and nail rats by the paws.  Wrap wooden boards in cling film first so they stay relatively clean.  Ensure nails are correct length so they don’t go through to the other side.  Recommend boards to be  min.1cm […]

• Dividing into portions with backing paper • Roll and flatten them back to the “original” shape and place them between some wax or baking paper, store inside a zip lock bag • Keep in a PET (polyethylene) plastic container away from UV light. • Store in plastic container but discard after 1 year • […]

I just made one last week. We got a kilo of dry ice pellets from BOQ in Welshpool and used a small aquarium with black felt from Spotlight, lining the bottom of the aquarium and Isopropyl alcohol (100%) to moisten the felt. You then tip the aquarium upside down on top of the lab tray […]

Faber Castell Connector Pens Bic Intensity Dual Tip Artline stamp pad ink. Parker’s Quink Ink Ecoline Black food colouring Artline 200 Fine 0.4, Black Artline 210 Medium 0.6, Blac Crayola ultra clean washable markers Solvents: Water, 1% salt solution, 95%ethanol

Dissolve 0.1g of methyl orange in 75ml of DI water, then dilute to 100ml.” pH range of 3.1 – 4.4

Suggestions: We often use hot glue guns here and the best way I have found to unblock is to leave the gun on, standing up with the nozzle pointing down, also remove the stick if possible. This way any glue build up can drip out of the nozzle, the longer you leave it the better […]

Has anyone used a Sous vide immersion circulator as an alternative to a water bath for the Year 11 Human Bio experiment on amylase metabolism? Purchase a large plastic tub and use with a 25L Sous Vide Immersion Tank $32 each (Kitchen Warehouse) and the Sous Vide from Wildfires Smokers – Inkbird ISV 100W $90 […]

You cannot repair a spring once it has gone past its elastic limit. The best solution is to ensure the end cap doesn’t come off – that’s how the spring over-stretches. Glue the base/ end cap to the tube, to prevent students over stretching the springs. Sikaflex glue is recommended. Superglue works well. A drop each […]

(This is used to slow down protozoa for microscope): Method 1: Heat is needed to dissolve and make a suspension of the Methyl cellulose powder, but it is important to have icy cold water on hand to cool the mixture down and stir fast! 3% aqueous Methyl cellulose: Heat 100ml of deionised (DI) water to 85°C […]