CAPS Practicals by Grade

Every CAPS practical, written up for the classroom. The method, what you should see, what to do when it does not work, and how the marks are split. Most come with a free learner worksheet and marking memorandum, no sign up.

Jump to Grade 12 · Grade 11 · Grade 10 · Grade 9 · Grade 8

Physical Sciences, Grade 12

Term	Practical	What the class does
1	Preparation of Esters CAPS prescribed	Make three esters and identify each one by smell
1	Conservation of Linear Momentum CAPS prescribed	Two trolleys, one spring, and momentum before against momentum after
1	Vertical Projectile Motion	Position, velocity and acceleration graphs for something thrown straight up
2	Titration of Oxalic Acid against Sodium Hydroxide CAPS prescribed	Standardise a sodium hydroxide solution, and read an endpoint before you overshoot it
2	Preparing a Standard Solution CAPS formal assessment	Weigh, dissolve and make up to the mark in a volumetric flask
2	Rate of Reaction	The four factors that change reaction rate, with an experiment for each
2	Chemical Equilibrium and Le Chatelier's Principle	Shift an equilibrium four different ways and watch the colour follow every time
2	Work, Energy and Power	The work-energy theorem, and where the joules actually go
2	The Doppler Effect	Sound, light and red shift, and why an ambulance changes pitch as it passes
3	Internal Resistance of a Battery CAPS prescribed	Why terminal voltage drops the moment you draw current, measured properly
3	Electrochemical Cells	Galvanic and electrolytic side by side, and which way the electrons go in each
3	The Photoelectric Effect	Why brighter light does not help, and what that says about photons

Physical Sciences, Grade 11

Term	Practical	What the class does
1	Intermolecular Forces CAPS formal assessment	Race four liquids to evaporate, then explain the order from the forces between their molecules
1	Newton's Second Law CAPS prescribed	Pull a trolley with a measured force and get F = ma out of the gradient
1	Static and Kinetic Friction	Drag a block and tilt a ramp to get both coefficients, on five different surfaces
2	Snell's Law and Refraction CAPS formal assessment	Trace a ray through a glass block and measure how far it bends
2	Boyle's Law	Squeeze a fixed mass of gas, and find out why the two graphs look nothing like each other
2	Percentage Yield and Limiting Reagent	Why the flask never gives you as much as the equation promised
2	Stoichiometry	The mole, molar mass, empirical formula and every calculation that follows
3	Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions CAPS formal assessment	Measure the temperature change and decide which way the energy travelled
3	Ohm's Law	A nichrome wire that obeys the law and a light bulb that does not, in the same circuit
3	Natural Indicators for Acids and Bases	Build a working pH scale out of a red cabbage, then check it against bought litmus
4	Redox Reactions and Oxidation Numbers	Assign oxidation numbers and find what was oxidised and what was reduced

Physical Sciences, Grade 10

Term	Practical	What the class does
1	Heating and Cooling Curves of Water CAPS prescribed	Heat ice through to boiling, read the thermometer every ten seconds, then explain the two flat sections
1	Separating Mixtures and Chromatography CAPS prescribed	Filter, evaporate, and pull three separate colours out of a single black dot
1	Flame Tests	Identify a metal cation by the colour it turns a flame
2	Physical and Chemical Change	Four changes, and the sealed against open comparison that proves mass is conserved
2	Transverse Pulses and Waves	Five experiments on one spring: pulse, wavelength, amplitude and what happens when two pulses meet
2	Solubility and Dissolving	Four white powders, four different temperature changes, and why how much is not the same question as how fast
2	Precipitation Reactions and Testing for Ions	Mix two clear solutions, get a solid, then work out which ions made it
2	Types of Reaction in Aqueous Solution	Four pairs of solutions and four reaction types, sorted by what actually drives each one
2	The Law of Reflection	Measure the angle going in and the angle coming out, and find they match
3	Resistors in Series and Parallel CAPS prescribed	What current and voltage do in each, measured with an ammeter and a voltmeter, plus where each meter goes
3	Measuring Current and Potential Difference	Where the ammeter goes, where the voltmeter goes, and what each one reads in a simple circuit
3	Acceleration, Ticker Tape and Motion Graphs CAPS prescribed	Turn a paper tape into a velocity graph and read the acceleration off the gradient
3	Acceleration on an Inclined Plane	The same measurement on a slope, with gravity doing the accelerating
3	Magnetism and Magnetic Fields	Iron filings show the shape of a field, a compass shows its direction, and the two are different questions
3	Electrostatics	Two strips of sticky tape, like and unlike charge, and why the whole thing fails on a humid day
4	The Hydrosphere: Water Quality and Purification Formal project	Test five real water samples, build a sand filter, then find out what filtering does not remove
4	Percentage Composition and Molar Gas Volume CAPS prescribed	Predict a mass and a gas volume from a formula, then collect and weigh them to check
4	Conservation of Energy with a Simple Pendulum	Swing a pendulum and account for the energy that looks like it has gone missing

Natural Sciences, Grade 9

Term	Practical	What the class does
1	Plant and Animal Cells Under a Microscope	Make a wet mount, focus a microscope without breaking the slide, and find the three differences you can actually see
1	Circulatory and Respiratory Systems	Dissect a heart and lungs, then measure how long a pulse takes to come back down after exercise
1	Food Tests for Starch and Fats CAPS Practical task 1	Test three foods for starch and for grease, and add the glucose test the task forgets to give you
2	The pH Scale and Indicators CAPS Practical task 2	Test household substances against two indicators and place each one on the pH scale
2	Reactions of Acids with Bases, Carbonates and Metals	The three things an acid reacts with, and the gas test that tells the products apart
3	Types of Forces	Contact and field forces, and a force meter graph that turns mass against weight into a measured number
3	Electric Cells and the Lemon Battery	Build a battery out of three lemons, and find out why the nail you choose decides whether it works
3	What Changes the Resistance of a Wire	Measure current through nichrome at five lengths and two thicknesses, and get a curve rather than a line
3	Series and Parallel Circuits	Cells and bulbs in both arrangements, and why adding cells in parallel changes nothing
3	The Cost of Running Household Appliances CAPS project	Work out what every appliance in a home costs a month, using this year's tariffs
4	The Rock Cycle and the Three Types of Rock	Four tests on three unknown rocks, then place each one in the cycle
4	The Atmosphere: Layers, Ozone and the Greenhouse Effect	Draw the atmosphere to scale, then measure the greenhouse effect with two jars and two thermometers

Natural Sciences, Grade 8

Term	Practical	What the class does
1	Photosynthesis and Respiration	Test a leaf for starch without setting the ethanol alight, then prove with lime water that plants respire in the dark too
1	Food Chains and Food Webs	Which way the arrows go, energy pyramids with the percentages worked out, and a one square metre study of the school grounds
1	Micro-organisms and the Growth of Yeast CAPS Practical task 1	The six-bottle yeast investigation, including the sixth condition the task forgets to give you
2	Atoms, Elements, Compounds and Mixtures	Split water with electricity, measure twice as much hydrogen as oxygen, and read the formula H2O off two test tubes
2	Density, Mass and Volume	Weigh and measure a metal cube, find a stone's volume by displacement, and watch a cup of sand change density when you tap it
2	The Particle Model of Matter CAPS Practical task 2	Time diffusion in hot and cold water, squeeze air in a sealed syringe, and heat the ring so the hole gets bigger
3	Make and Use an Electromagnet CAPS project	Wind a nail, build a switch out of two drawing pins, and measure how many nails it lifts at 20, 40 and 60 turns
3	Static Electricity	Five practicals that need only a balloon, including the one that explains why the whole lesson fails on a damp day
3	Electric Circuits and the Effects of a Current	Build a loop that stops dead when you pull one lead, heat nichrome while the copper beside it stays cold, and swing four compasses with a single wire
3	Visible Light: the Spectrum, Colour and the Eye	Build a pinhole camera out of a shoebox, measure how a shadow grows as the lamp moves in, and put the lens back into the eye diagram
4	The Solar System	Walk a scale model out on the school field, with Neptune 562 m from the Sun, and find the printed distance that puts Mars two metres wrong
4	Beyond the Solar System	Work out for yourself how far a light year is, measure the Milky Way in the time light takes to cross it, and see why a black hole is the opposite of nothing
4	Looking into Space	Compute the magnification of a telescope from its two focal lengths, find the south celestial pole off the Southern Cross, and read the sky the way it was read here first

Apparatus for these practicals

Every practical page lists what it needs and links straight to the item. Nothing here is a sealed kit you cannot refill. If a beaker breaks, you replace the beaker.

For	Shop
Beakers, flasks, cylinders, funnels	Laboratory glassware
Ammeters, voltmeters, bulbs, leads, switches	Electricity
Trolleys, ticker timers, spring balances, masses	Force, motion and dynamics
Thermometers of every range	Thermometers
Microscopes, slides and cover slips	Microscopes
Hand lenses and stereo microscopes for fieldwork	Stereo microscopes
Litmus, pH strips, filter and chromatography paper	pH and litmus test papers
Ray boxes, prisms, lenses, mirrors	Light and optics
Magnets, compasses, iron filings	Magnetism
Solar system models, globes and space wall charts	Astronomy
Balances from 0,1 g down to 0,001 g	Balances and scales
Goggles, gloves, lab coats	Safety gear

Setting up a laboratory from scratch, or replacing a whole class set? Send us the list and we will quote it.