"Practise" vs. "practice"

As an Australian, I like to follow British forms of words such as license/licence and practise/practice. I have no problem with licence the noun and license the verb, but I find it hard to keep practise and practice straight.

To get better, I practise my juggling. When I see a doctor, I visit their practice. But what about preparing a set of practice problems? Are they a set of problems that are used for practising, being instead practise problems? Is there a use of the word practice besides referring to, say, a doctor's establishment?

Solution 1:

The use of practice in practice problems is correct. Here, practice problems is a compound noun with problems modified by practice. It means problems used for practice.

It helps your understanding to replace practice here with revision. We use revision problems, not revise problems, to mean problems used for revision. Practice is simply a noun meaning the act of practising, just like revision is a noun meaning the act of revising.

Solution 2:

Either "practice" or "practise" in British dialects of English may be used for the verb form (see the OED - it merely lists them as alternate spellings). The OED also lists "practise" as a variant for the noun, although it is pretty clear that "practice" is preferred for the noun form.

For example, I hold a practising certificate, which allows me to practise (or practice) as part of a solicitors' practice.