A chemistry practical goes by quickly. You have a limited lab period, a teacher watching, and a bench full of glassware you may have used only once or twice. Reading the steps beforehand shows you the order of work before you reach the bench.
This guide shows how to use a Schoolabe practical page to get that head start, and what the page will not do for you.
What is on a practical page
Each practical sits on a single page, in the order you would write a school record.
- Safety note first, then the button that opens the lab, so you see the hazards before anything else.
- Aim, then apparatus and chemicals: what you are doing and what you need on the table.
- Theory and reaction: the principle behind the experiment. It stays closed until you open it.
- Procedure: numbered steps in the order you perform them.
- A blank observation table. You fill it with your own readings.
- Calculation and result: the working your teacher expects to see.
- Precautions: the points that often come up in the viva.
Because every page follows the same order, you do not have to hunt for a section.
Step 1: Read the whole page once, then read the safety note again
Start at the top and read to the bottom without stopping to memorise. You only want the shape of the experiment. Then go back to the safety note. Know which chemicals are corrosive, which need warming, and what to do if something spills.
In the school lab, your teacher's instructions come first.
Step 2: Rehearse in the interactive lab
Tap Open the interactive lab. It stays closed until you tap it, so the page stays light on a phone and the lab does not start until you ask.
The lab shows the apparatus. For the permanganate titration, it also shows the pale pink end point, so you know what you are looking for before you reach the burette. Use it to practise the order of steps and to recognise the colour change.
- The lab does not calculate your result. It is a rehearsal for technique. Your readings come from your own solutions at the bench.
- If WebGL is unavailable on your device, use the flat diagram. It shows the same setup.
Step 3: Practise the viva
Each page has viva questions. After you answer, you see a short reason. Read the reason: it says why that answer fits the question.
A useful routine: say your answer out loud, then check it. Retry the questions you missed before you leave the page. The score is shown on this device and is not uploaded. Refreshing the page starts the viva again.
Step 4: Fill in your own observations
The observation table on each page is blank on purpose. Schoolabe does not give you concentrations or readings to copy. In a real practical, your results depend on your solutions, your technique, and your burette reading, and your teacher will check them against your own work.
On the day, write down what you actually measure, even if it is not perfect. Your teacher checks those readings against your own working.
Step 5: Print your practical file
The practical file is a print sheet. If you type your name, class, school, or roll number, that text stays on this device. This version of the site has no account and does not upload the file.
The sheet is not stored for you. Print it, or copy what you need, before you leave the page.
Pages that are not yet reviewed
A page that a named chemistry reviewer has not signed says so. Do not treat that page as a checked school record. If a page leaves a concentration or a quantity blank, do not guess. Use the figure from your laboratory manual or ask your teacher.
If you find a mistake, use Report an error on this page.
A note on safety
Schoolabe is a study aid. Do the real experiment only in your school laboratory, with your teacher present.
Quick checklist before your practical
- Read the page from top to bottom, then reread the safety note.
- Rehearse once in the interactive lab, or with the flat diagram.
- Answer the viva questions and review the ones you missed.
- Know your observation-table headings before you enter the lab.
- Bring your laboratory manual and follow it for all quantities.
Ready to start?
Try one practical, or open the full list for your class.