These activities, from the Centre for Science Education's Science Assessment Tasks for More Able Students, were developed as part of '2005 - Year of the Sea'. The student activities consist of three assessment tasks. These are backed up by a set of exemplar materials for teachers to support their judgements.

The mystery ...

This resource is set in the context of soil tests in a Martian environment. Students begin by researching suitable criteria for defining the presence of life. They analyse soil samples in tests similar to the experiments on the Mars Viking Lander and use their operational definition of life to determine whether...

Teachers TV was originally a television channel which aimed to provide professional development support for teachers, school leaders, support staff and governors. Many of the programmes were filmed inside real classrooms, with teachers sharing good practice and ideas for lessons.

The videos in this...

This Catalyst article describes how biophysics is helping in the search for novel antibiotics. Bacteria produce an array of proteins to kill off their competitors. These proteins, called bacteriocins, are very efficient at penetrating the defensive outer layers of bacteria cells by moving through specific membrane...

In these resources from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), students look at the scientific and factual side of this important aspect of the curriculum. The Key Stage Three lessons look at how plants can be used to clean up contaminated land and the science of acid rain. The Key Stage Four lessons...

In these STFC resources, students discover fascinating facts about materials and their properties. The Key Stage Three resources look at the many different facets of cement. The Key Stage Four resources examine ethics and science of oil drilling, oil being the basis for the plastics industry. The resource also...

As transistors become smaller, the doping of semi-conductors becomes a significant challenge. This Catalyst article looks at how Scanning Tunnelling Microscopes can be used to manipulate individual atoms, to create electronic devices of unprecedented accuracy. The technique could also be used to fabricate quantum...

Learn about the cooling down of liquids and thermal insulators in this colourful comic aimed at students in Key Stage Two. Written to promote enquiry skills in a context, it focuses on making predictions before carrying out an investigation on how quickly a hot liquid...

Learn about the properties of gases in this colourful comic aimed at Key Stage Two. Written to promote scientific enquiry, it contains a linked investigation which focuses on how to plan and carry out an investigation when considering which materials are good at...

Learn about the properties of solids, liquids and gases in this colourful comic aimed at students in Key Stage Two. Written to promote enquiry skills, it contains a linked investigation which focuses on planning and evaluating evidence when investigating how to create...

Learn about the properties of materials and changing state in this colourful comic aimed at students in Key Stage Two. Written to promote enquiry skills, it contains a linked investigation which focuses on planning and recording when finding out how to make the best...