Due to problems in the manufacture of tinplate coils, the edge of the strip can be slightly longer than the centre. This causes a 'wave' on the wall of the coil but can be rectified by differentially stretching the strip to make the edges flat. Students are required to apply Pythagoras' theorem to find the radius...

Produced by the Wellcome Trust, these resources include an interactive evolutionary tree and a video of the Tree of Life. These materials will help students to find out more about the work of Charles Darwin and evolution. The resources contain:

Tree of life video: The video is a short...

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, looks at what information we can gather by viewing (but not visiting) different parts of the universe. 

The...

Students investigate why some plastic cups collapse when filled with hot water and some don't.  They compare the effect of hot water on a range of cups and relate their findings to the properties of the plasticsused for each cup:  whether it is biodegradable or not, its melting...

In this resource a presentation and linked activities provide design and technology teachers with opportunities to highlight the different values and beliefs that designers may hold. Students can engage in exploring their own values about the responsibilities of designers and companies too. The presentation ...

Produced by ARKive, a database of stunning natural history images, this activity is designed to teach students aged 11 to 14 about the identifiable features of different types of animals and how they are classified. The activity is also suitable for students aged 14 to 16 and beyond. Using a quiz format, students...

In this activity, alcohol and air are mixed in a large plastic water bottle before being ignited, to simulate the physics principles of...

Produced by the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) this activity aims to encourage students to consider the wider environmental, social and economic implications of shopping. It can be conducted in small groups as an introduction to sustainability.

In this activity, students explore the requirements of aerodynamic design through testing simple shapes in a wind tunnel and explain the link between the test results from a wind tunnel and air resistance. The activity focuses on students acquiring an understanding of...

This resource from the Institute of Physics (IOP), describes how X-rays can be used to image the body. The X-rays video, taken from an IOP Schools and Colleges lecture, describes how Roentgen discovered how to image using X-rays, in his lab. The lecture also describes how barium and iodine can be used to to image...

Dr Laura Hobbs is a research scientist at the University of Strathclyde and the Scottish Association for Marine Science. She uses data from instruments, called echosounders, that use sound waves to monitor the depth and abundance of zooplankton in the Arctic Ocean. Studying copepods, her research has shown that...