This resource supports students in carrying out independent investigations.  It helps them to choose, plan, carry out and write up an in-depth scientific investigation.

The mystery ...

Alkaseltzer rockets
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 These materials look at three possible projects that relate to sustainable transport:

* Communications project - students gather information and produce a balanced view on the costs and benefits of using hydrogen as fuel for vehicles.

* Practical project - students investigate the factors that affect...

These materials look at three possible projects that relate to cleaning products and tackling microbes that spread disease: * Communications project - students act as health promotion specialists trying to persuade people about the need to wash hands after using the toilet. * Practical project - students...

These materials look at three possible projects that relate to the bicycle used by an athlete in a triathlon: * Communications project - students gather information and give advice about which bike is suitable for a range of users. * Practical project - students undertake practical experiments to investigate the...

Students research, and then try out, ways of detecting analgesic compounds in mixtures:

• Chemical tests for particular organic functional groups.

• Paper and/or thin-layer chromatography to separate and identify analgesic...

Produced by Solar Spark, this is a simple practical activity that can be used to show how a solar photovoltaic cell works. During a 45-60 minute session, students make solar cells out of cheap and readily accessible materials. The mechanism behind the solar cell is similar to that used in a dye-sensitised solar...

Produced by Solar Spark, this activity looks at the relationship between light and absorption in solar cells. Using a photovoltaic cell and different colour acetate sheets, it demonstrates the ability of solar cells to absorb at different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum and shows how the more it can...

These resources from NASA look at why telescopes are put into space. Students build simple spectroscopes and telescopes to learn the answer to this question. This educator guide is divided into units of study that include science demonstrations, lesson plans and student sheets so that students may learn about Earth...

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In this practical activity students stain root tips and examine them for signs of cells dividing by mitosis. Students can either compare two different sources of root tip or two different stains. The mitotic index is the fraction of cells in a microscope field which contain condensed chromosomes. This index can be...

Produced by Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), this investigation looks at stomatal opening and closing in Commelina communis (Asiatic dayflower). This is achieved by varying the turgor of the guard cells by bathing lower epidermal peels in solutions of different osmotic strengths. Changes in guard cell...

From Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), this practical activity was developed for Scottish Highers specifications, but the protocol can equally well be used for other specifications.

Students sterilise seeds of...