This film is about the art and theatre of delivering scientific demonstrations, why we do them and how to ensure they deliver the desired learning outcomes. It is important for teachers to consider what it is they want students to observe before carrying out a demonstration. Alom Shaha describes a technique called...

Aerospace engineers need to take into account the heat generated when the space craft move through the atmosphere at extreme speeds, both during launch and at re-entry, as without proper thermal protection the space craft could be destroyed. Insulating blankets, foams and tiles are used to protect the spacecraft....

Produced in 1995, this publication, written by Ofsted at the request of the Department for Education, identifies some characteristics of good practice in Design and Technology at Key Stages Three and Four, and was aimed at those who are responsible for planning, organising and teaching Design and Technology in...

This resource, from the University of Nottingham, describes a number of investigations which could be carried out in heathland habitats. Heathlands are excellent habitats to use for designing and carrying out experiments. Plants are often relatively easy to identify when compared with other habitats and...

This Core Maths activity covers the key points to consider when designing an effective questionnaire.

It is suitable for a whole-class introduction to the topic, providing ample opportunities for group discussion. The practical task enables students to design their own...

As the number of cells in a microbial culture increases, turbidity increases. In this experiment students calculate doubling time and growth rate constant using absorbance as the measure of growth. Turbidity is caused by suspended cells in the growth medium scattering light, and may be measured using a colorimeter...

This experiment is a continuation of Determining Doubling Time. Students create a standard curve of absorbance against yeast concentration, and use this to determine the concentration of yeast produced over time.

The standard curve (dry mass, grams per litre) is generated from known concentrations of dried...

The materials in this resource are from the Secondary National Strategy ‘Progressing to Level 6 and beyond in science’ project. They were intended for science teachers who are focusing on developing writing in science – specifically explanations, arguments and descriptions.

These materials consist of general...

This Core Maths activity investigates diamond smuggling.

The presentation gives details of how diamonds were smuggled out of Namibia in cans of pilchards. Students need to use the information given to calculate an estimate of the value of the smuggled diamonds. They need to use estimation and the formula for...

This short homework or worksheet activity describes how a bitmapped image has been stored in a file, including the encodings used in binary to represent the 4 colours which make up the image, and the height and width of the image. The data is all given in binary format. Students are then expected to recreate the...

These resources, written in 2011 and provided by the Joint Mathematical Council (JMC), discuss the role that digital technologies might and should have in mathematics education. Consideration is given to the types of experiences students encounter and how best to develop the curriculum to engage students in using...

These interactive notes build on the ideas covered in edition 30 of Catalyst. 

Catalyst is a science magazine for students aged 14-19 years. Find out more about Catalyst magazine: www.stem.org.uk/catalyst

This resource provides background information for students about the structure of DNA, DNA replication, genetic engineering, cloning, genetic testing and DNA fingerprinting.

The activities for students include a practical activity where students extract their own DNA from cheek epithelial cells or plant...

Produced by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service, this activity takes students through a step-by-step approach to understanding the basic principles of distance-time and velocity-time graphs. Working through the activity will help students to:
* Understand the terms distance, time, velocity and...

Produced by the Science Museum, this resource sees students working in groups to explore the issues surrounding genetic testing. Students receive a sealed secret box, that contains a chance card. Opening the box represents taking a genetic test. Students have to decide whether they would want to open the box. In...