Free Virtual Labs for Class 9 and 10

#What virtual labs does Qurricular have?

Qurricular has three labs: a physics lab, a chemistry lab and Code Studio. Qurricular is a board exam prep app for Pakistani students from Class 9 to A Level, and the labs are built against the syllabus learning outcomes, so each one matches a practical or topic you actually study.

#Physics lab: how do you read a vernier caliper?

To read a vernier caliper, add the main scale reading to the vernier reading. The main scale reading is the last millimetre mark before the vernier zero. The vernier reading is the number of the vernier line that lines up exactly with a main scale line, multiplied by the least count.

A typical school vernier caliper has a least count of 0.1 mm (0.01 cm). In the lab you clamp a marble in the jaws and take the reading three times. The mean of the three is your answer, and the spread tells you how much to trust it.

Open the vernier caliper lab (free, no account).

#Physics lab: how do you correct a screw gauge zero error?

To correct a screw gauge zero error, close the gauge fully, note the reading with nothing between the jaws, and subtract that zero error from every measurement. A positive zero error is subtracted; a negative one is added back.

In this lab the screw gauge has a pitch of 0.5 mm and 50 thimble divisions, so its least count is 0.01 mm. It reads 0.02 mm with the jaws shut, which means every reading is 0.02 mm too high. Measure the wire, then take 0.02 mm off. A fault you can name is a fault you can subtract.

Open the screw gauge lab (free, no account).

#Physics lab: how do you find the volume of a pebble?

You find the volume of an irregular object like a pebble by displacement. Pour water into a measuring cylinder and note the level. Gently lower the pebble in and note the new level. The volume of the pebble is the difference between the two readings.

Read the level at the bottom of the meniscus with your eye level with the water, so you don't add a parallax error.

Open the pebble volume lab (free, no account).

#Physics lab: what affects how far a projectile goes?

How far a projectile goes depends on its launch speed, its launch angle and gravity. With no air resistance, the horizontal speed stays constant while gravity pulls the object down at about 10 m/s² (9.8 m/s² more precisely). The physics lab in the app lets you experiment with projectiles, gravity and friction and watch what changes.

Open the physics lab in the app (sign-in needed).

#Chemistry lab: what happens when an acid reacts with a base?

When an acid reacts with a base, they neutralise each other and form a salt and water. Hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide in equal amounts give sodium chloride (table salt) and water:

HCl + NaOH → NaCl + H₂O

In the lab you drag one beaker onto the other and watch the product form. The H⁺ ions from the acid and the OH⁻ ions from the base join to make water.

Open the acid and base lab (free, no account).

#Chemistry lab: why does zinc displace copper?

Zinc displaces copper from copper sulfate solution because zinc is more reactive than copper. Zinc goes into solution as zinc sulfate, and copper metal comes out as a reddish-brown coating:

Zn + CuSO₄ → ZnSO₄ + Cu

The blue colour of the copper sulfate fades as the copper ions are used up. The reactivity series isn't a list to rattafy; it predicts which way this reaction goes.

Open the zinc and copper sulfate lab (free, no account).

#Chemistry lab: what forms when silver nitrate and sodium chloride mix?

When silver nitrate and sodium chloride solutions mix, a white precipitate of silver chloride forms. Both starting solutions are colourless:

AgNO₃ + NaCl → AgCl (white precipitate) + NaNO₃

The silver and chloride ions pair up and fall out as a solid. The sodium and nitrate ions stay dissolved, unchanged. This is the classic test for chloride ions.

Open the silver chloride precipitate lab (free, no account).

#What is Qurricular Code Studio?

Qurricular Code Studio is an in-browser coding lab for HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python and C++. The free starter projects run with no account:

• A ball that falls: about twenty lines of JavaScript, one of which is gravity. Change it, make it negative, and see the physics change. Open the falling ball project.
• Your first web page: HTML says what things are, CSS says what they look like. Open the first web page project.
• A loop that does your homework: change one number and a whole times table updates. Open the times table loop project.

Python and C++ are available inside the app after signing in.

#Can a virtual lab replace a school practical?

No. A virtual lab helps you understand a practical and practise readings, but your board practical exam is done with real apparatus. Use the lab before the practical so you know what to look for, and after it to revise. Teachers can use the labs in class too; see Qurricular for schools.

For more on what's in the paper, read the FBISE paper pattern 2027, practise calculations with physics numericals step by step, or go back to the FBISE hub.