Virtual labs

Simulated experiments, instruments and processes built on real scientific rules. Each lab has an aim, steps, tasks and exam questions, and links to the topics it supports.

Show labs for

Type of lab

Physics (6)

ExplorerLogic Gates and Truth TablesSwitch the inputs of NOT, AND, OR, NAND, NOR, XOR and XNOR gates, watch the output lamp, and build each gate's truth table.Open →ExperimentProjectile MotionLaunch a ball at any speed and angle, on Earth, the Moon, Mars or Jupiter, and measure its range, maximum height and time of flight.Open →ExperimentReading a Metre Rule: Parallax ErrorMove your eye left and right above a metre rule and watch the reading change. Find out why the eye must be straight above the mark and the object close to the scale.Open →Measuring instrumentScrew Gauge (Micrometer)Turn the thimble of a micrometer screw gauge onto a copper wire, a steel ball or a sheet of paper, finish with the ratchet, and read the main and circular scales.Open →ExperimentTiming a Pendulum: Reaction TimeTime a swinging pendulum yourself with a stopwatch. Compare timing 1 swing with timing 10 or 20 swings, and see how reaction time affects your answer.Open →Measuring instrumentVernier CallipersSlide the jaw of a vernier calliper onto a cylinder, a coin or the inside of a beaker, read the main and vernier scales, and correct for zero error.Open →

Chemistry (5)

ExperimentMelting Point and PurityHeat pure and impure benzoic acid in capillary tubes in an oil bath, record when each starts and finishes melting, and use the results to judge purity.Open →ExperimentPaper ChromatographySpot food dyes and black ink on chromatography paper, watch them separate, measure the spots and calculate Rf values to identify an unknown.Open →ProcessSalt from Rock SaltGet pure salt from Khewra rock salt: dissolve, filter off the sand, evaporate to the crystallisation point and grow crystals, then work out the percentage of salt.Open →ExperimentSeparating Funnel: Solvent ExtractionExtract iodine from water into hexane in a separating funnel: shake, vent, let the layers settle and run off the lower layer at just the right moment.Open →ExperimentSimple and Fractional DistillationDistil sea water to get pure water, and separate ethanol from water with a fractionating column, while a live graph plots the thermometer reading.Open →

Biology (2)

ExperimentFair Test: Does Fertiliser Make Wheat Grow Taller?Grow wheat seedlings with and without fertiliser for three weeks. Keep everything else the same, compare the control group with the experimental group, and read the results from a table and graph.Open →ExperimentRoss's Malaria ExperimentRepeat Ronald Ross's 1898 sparrow experiment: let mosquitoes feed on an infected or a healthy bird, watch the parasite grow inside the mosquito, then check the blood of the birds they bite.Open →

Mathematics (5)

ExplorerIndex Laws ExplorerJoin and cancel blocks to see why aᵐ × aⁿ = aᵐ⁺ⁿ, aᵐ ÷ aⁿ = aᵐ⁻ⁿ and (aᵐ)ⁿ = aᵐⁿ, and use a graph of 2ˣ to see zero, negative and fractional powers.Open →ExplorerNumber SorterDrag numbers such as √9, √10, 0.3̇, −4 and π into the smallest set they belong to: natural, whole, integer, rational or irrational.Open →ModelRounding and BoundsSee the interval a rounded measurement could have come from, drag a true length across the bounds, and find the smallest and largest area of a rectangle.Open →ExplorerStandard Form ScaleSlide along a powers-of-ten scale from an atom to the Milky Way, and see each size in ordinary and standard form.Open →ExplorerZoom into the Number LineZoom into the number line ten times at a time to find the digits of √2, π and 1/7, and see where 22/7 and 1.414 stop matching.Open →

Earth and Space (6)

ModelCompass around the EarthDrag a compass anywhere around the Earth and watch its needle follow the magnetic field lines. Switch on the solar wind to see how the field protects us and makes auroras.Open →ModelEarthquake Waves and the Shadow ZoneStart an earthquake and watch P and S waves travel along curved paths through the Earth. See which seismometers receive them and find the shadow zone that proves the outer core is liquid.Open →ExperimentMeasure the Earth like Al-BiruniStand on a hill, measure how far the horizon dips below the level line, and work out the radius of the Earth the way Al-Biruni did near Nandana Fort.Extension: Class 10 / O LevelOpen →ExperimentMohs Scratch Test for MineralsTest the hardness of 11 minerals, from talc to diamond, with a fingernail, copper wire, steel nail, glass plate and steel file, and place each one on the Mohs scale.Open →ModelRadioactive Decay and DatingWatch 400 radioactive atoms decay at random, see that about half are left after each half-life, and work out the age of a sample with carbon-14, potassium-40 or uranium-238.Extension: Class 10 / O LevelOpen →ProcessTake a Rock around the Rock CycleStart with magma, cool it fast or slowly to make granite or basalt, then use weathering, compaction, heat and pressure and melting to turn your rock into sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.Open →

How the labs work

Each lab copies a real experiment, measuring instrument or natural process. The numbers come from the real scientific rules, and any simplification is stated under the lab.