This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). Thermocolour film is a fascinating material that changes colour depending on the temperature. It allows a very wide range of phenomena to be...

This resource provides a set of videos and a practical investigation aimed at supporting working scientifically in the classroom and relating science to real world experiences. In the first video Professor Brian Cox joins a teacher to find out how to set up and run an investigation to find out how to turn dirty...

These resources allow students to explore natural selection using different coloured baits (spaghetti ‘worms’) that are selected and eaten by birds. Uneaten ‘worms’ are counted after predation and the ‘worm’ population is replenished in proportion to those colours which remain. After several cycles of predation and...

These resources were developed by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme and the Centre for Science Education at Sheffield Hallam University in order to demonstrate new ways that ICT can be used to enhance practical work in science. Research scientists use computer technology in both the collection and the...

This biology extension module from the Salters’ Science course reviews the history of biotechnology to introduce the use of microbes in large-scale industrial biochemistry. Student ideas about positive uses of microbes are reviewed. Students monitor the growth of single...

This resource looks at what properties of infra-red make it so useful in gaming technology? Students develop a working prototype of a simple infra-red electronic circuit, identify an input and an output and test the performance of the circuit. They then explain how the findings of their research could affect their...

Understanding the osmotic potential of plant cells is a key part of understanding...

This Salters’ Chemistry Course unit from the University of York Science Education Group covered:
* The use of soaps and soapless detergents.
* Emulsions and the action of emulsifiers.
* The hardness of water.
* The manufacture and use of cosmetics,...

A Year Ten module from the Salters’ double award science course. Practical tests using “urine” samples illustrate chemical diagnostic testing for illness. Different types of illness are classified, also different types of micro-organisms and the body’s defences against them. Experiments show how bacteria grow and...

In this lesson from the Science and Technology Council (STFC), students use an experiment to see if carbon dioxide does cause global warming. The lesson starts with a presentation which raises questions to be answered by the experiment. Students are asked to evaluate the method and results before planning and...

Two lessons from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)'s Seeing Science in which students look at how some plants absorb heavy metals. The lessons include an experiment to measure the amount of copper absorbed by lettuce and radish plants. In another activity, students use evidence cards and a map to...

The Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC) resources put curriculum science in real-life contexts. These materials focus on the use of mixtures in the kitchen and can be used to illustrate the properties of materials. Students examine a mince-pie as a 'mixture' and compare 'real' dairy cream with...

The glacier experiment sequence from the previous two lessons is repeated here, accompanied by the glacier vulnerability score chart. Two sets of student assessment tasks are given for levels three to seven. One of these allows teachers to print and distribute the questions most suitable to their class or to...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). Electromagnetic waves show a huge range in terms of frequency and wavelength, but the same basic principles underlie wave behaviour:...

Produced by the Hamilton Trust, these resources give details of six lessons on light and vision. This includes lesson plans, practical activities and all student materials. Students identify sources of light and revise facts such as light travels in straight lines and opaque objects form shadows. They understand...