A Catalyst article about designing, building and testing a spacecraft. There are thousands of man-made satellites orbiting the Earth. Some are only a few hundred kilometres above the Earth and complete one orbit roughly every 90 minutes. Geostationary satellites are located around 40 000 kilometres from the surface...

A Catalyst article about Chikyu, a Japanese drilling ship capable of boring through the Earth's crust. It will investigate regions where the crust is thinnest. Core samples are examined using a number of scientific techniques and they have produced useful information about areas where there is seismic activity...

The Geography Research Department of the University of Durham (Durham Geography) have developed three worksheets for teachers that provide guidance notes along with example demonstrations and classroom practicals of:

This Catalyst article looks at soil composition and the reasons behind protecting soil from turning into dust. The UN Year of Soils highlighted the many ways in which humans rely on soil for much more than growing crops.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary...

Astronauts have been taking photographs of the Earth from space for over 50 years and Earth Observation scientists have used satellite images for a similar amount of time.

The EO Detective activities aim to demonstrate how a vantage point in space, such as the International Space Station, provides a unique...

The films in this collection look at how scientists study volcanos. The films contain footage of volcanoes erupting and cover areas such as the formation of islands, types of eruption, the structure of volcanos and whether we can predict eruptions.

Produced by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), these naked Scientist podcasts look at Earth science questions in an accessible and informative way.

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A Catalyst article about how the study of ancient rocks and sediments can help deduce how the Earth's atmosphere has changed over billions of years. There used to be much less oxygen than there is today. This article describes how the composition of the atmosphere has changed through history; it also explains the...

Work done in this Nuffield 13 - 16 module followed from the S unit called ‘Keys and detection’. This S unit provided enough material for eight double periods during a single-certificate science course. The teachers’ guide included two worksheets to supplement the...

As human population increases our appetite for meat is growing but very soon demand will outstrip supply. Farming large animals puts a strain on our natural resources and creates polluting waste. Scientists are proposing eating insects to help solve this problem. In this activity students are asked to plan a menu...

A podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Willow, palm, miscanthus and other energy crops are being touted as a possible solution to Britain's growing energy security problems. There are suggestions that they could help replace fossil fuels, plugging...

Resources which reach outside of the classroom, including interviews with individuals in science-based careers and a forum for exchange facts and opinions with students in other countries.

Resources which reach outside of the classroom, including interviews with individuals in science-based careers and a forum for exchange facts and opinions with students in other countries.