A Guide to High School Physics Lab Equipment, Topic by Topic

A secondary school physics lab has one main job: to let students see the ideas from their textbook work in real life. The right high school physics lab equipment makes that possible without costing more than the school can support. This guide groups the apparatus by the topics taught in most secondary courses, so you can match purchases to your syllabus.

Courses such as IGCSE, CBSE, WAEC, and national curricula differ in detail, but they share the same core topics. Use this guide as a starting point, then check it against your own practical list.

What a school physics lab should help students do

Good lab work builds skills as well as knowledge. In the lab, students learn to:

take careful readings with the right tool;
handle and look after apparatus and measuring tools;
record observations and results in full;
present data as tables, graphs, or equations;
draw sound conclusions from what they observe;
discuss results with the teacher and with each other.

Every item of high school physics lab equipment below supports one or more of these skills.

Electricity: what to stock

Electricity is a major practical topic in most school courses. Beyond meters and power supplies, schools often stock these items.

Bell push: a simple push switch for circuit and electric bell experiments.
Bicycle dynamo assembly: shows how turning a magnet near a coil generates current.
Capacitance box: gives set values of capacitance for charging and timing circuits.
Coil, high inductance: for self-induction and AC experiments.
Induction coil: steps a low voltage up to a high one to demonstrate induction.
Resistance coils and a rheostat: fixed and variable resistance for Ohm's law work.
Digital pH meter: listed with electrical instruments in our catalog, and often shared with the chemistry lab.

A battery charger is worth adding if the lab uses rechargeable cells instead of a mains power supply.

Heat: what to stock

Heat work covers how things expand, store heat, and pass it on. Common items include:

Bar and gauge: the bar fits the gauge when cold but not when hot, showing expansion.
Calorimeter: to find how much heat a metal or liquid takes up.
Conductivity kit or thermal conductivity bars: compare how fast different metals conduct heat.
Constant pressure air thermometer: links gas volume to temperature.
Crookes radiometer: a vane in a partial vacuum that spins in light.
Leslie cube: shows that dull black surfaces radiate more heat than shiny ones.
Linear expansion apparatus: measures the expansion of a metal rod.
Thermometer: the basic reading instrument for all of the above.

Mechanics: what to stock

Mechanics practicals cover forces, motion, pressure, and simple machines. Useful items include:

Force table: for adding forces and checking equilibrium.
Hydrostatic balance: for weighing objects in water to find density.
Hydraulic press: a model that shows Pascal's principle at work.
Inclined plane and friction board: for friction and the resolution of forces on a slope.
Liquid level apparatus: shows that liquids find their own level.
Flywheel unit: used for rotational energy and moment of inertia.

Fluids and pressure: what to stock

Pressure in liquids and gases is part of most secondary courses. These items show it clearly.

Barometer tube: a long glass tube for setting up a simple Torricelli barometer. Mercury work needs strict controls, so follow your safety officer's rules.
Barometer siphon: a J-shaped barometer tube, with a long closed limb and a short open one, for atmospheric pressure work.
Pascal's apparatus: shows that liquid pressure depends on depth, not vessel shape.
Jolly air bulb: used with Jolly's constant volume gas thermometer set-ups.

Modern physics: what to stock

Older students study atoms, light spectra, and electrons. A small set of modern physics equipment brings these ideas into the room.

Spectrum tube: a gas discharge tube that gives a line spectrum.
Teslameter: measures the strength of a magnetic field.
Rectilinear propagation tube: shows that rays travel in straight lines.
Repulsion tube (Goldstein): a gas discharge tube for teacher demonstrations; follow its manual for the exact experiment.

Discharge tubes need a high-voltage supply, so teachers should follow the manual and the school's safety rules closely.

Glass apparatus for physics

Some physics demonstrations rely on glass apparatus rather than metal or wood.

Radiation absorption discs: compare how surfaces absorb radiant heat.
Spirometer: a lung volume meter. It is mainly a biology item, though our catalog lists it with physics glassware.
Cartesian diver: a small float in a sealed bottle that sinks when the bottle is squeezed, showing pressure and buoyancy.

Planning your high school physics lab equipment purchase

Start from the practical list your exam board sets. Tick off each experiment, then list the apparatus it needs. That gives you a list tied to real teaching, not a catalog wish list.

Order enough bench sets for your largest class, working in pairs or threes.
Buy demonstration items, such as discharge tubes and the Crookes radiometer, in ones.
Add spares for glass items and small parts that students lose.
Ask for manuals and, where possible, a spec sheet with each item.

For hands-on safety advice, see our school lab maintenance and safety guide.

Browse and request a quote

You can browse each group in the catalog.

LabExports makes high school physics lab equipment in India and ships it by sea or air freight. Pricing is on request. Send your list with quantities and delivery country through the quote request page.