The spacecraft that have orbited around Mars and landed on its surface have shown us (via images and data) that there is no liquid water on the surface of Mars. However, these satellite images have also revealed to us features that appear to have been created or carved out by flowing water. In fact, scientists feel...

Scientists must design and evaluate many ways of extracting water from the lunar permafrost before planning lunar colonies and manned missions using the moon as a base.

In this activity students will construct a solar water collector. Using the collector, students will collect and calculate the amount of...

Does light behave like a wave, a stream of particles or both? Scientists at the University of Oxford are taking advantage of the particle-wave duality of light to carry out work developing exciting new technologies.

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This worksheet, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), introduces students to the wave equation, giving them an understanding of some of the vocabulary and concepts used. Students use the formula: velocity (wave) = frequency x wavelength to answer the questions on the worksheet.

The...

This physics extension module from the Salters’ Science course covers the action of sensors and amplifiers in electronic systems. Potential dividers are studied as a way of supplying different voltages. The action of light dependent resistors and thermistors in...

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 short activity introduces students to the ideas of the footprint and resolution of an image, asking them to choose and use appropriate methods to calculate how these quantities would change as they moved a camera to a series of vantage points above the surface of the Earth

This activity uses a humorous video to raise a serious question: can science tell us what animals are saying, and interpret their emotions? The Bow-lingual dog translator claims to detect animal emotions by analysing bark sounds waves. Students use research evidence to decide whether the device does what it claims...

The Nuffield Foundation provide this resource which can be used to introduce the idea of representing objects using plans and elevations. Students will have the opportunity to identify everyday objects photographed from plan and elevation views, draw 3D sketches of solids from their plan and elevation views, as...

This full lesson plan, plus dataset and worksheet, from CensusAtSchool is designed to help students understand the different types of average, how to calculate and compare them and which average it is appropriate to use for a particular data set.

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...

This is a simple comprehension activity for students to consider the main features of cystic fibrosis (CF), the recessive pattern of inheritance, carriers and screening. The student worksheets provide a clear diagram of the function of the CFTR protein, which forms a...

This comprehension activity, from Genetic Disorders UK, looks at the main features of Huntington’s disease (HD) and how it affects the brain. Students consider Huntington’s disease as a progressive neurodegenerative disease and the issues surrounding genetic testing for...

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, introduces students to how our understanding of gravity has changed over time, and what this means for the gravitational field strength of different bodies in our galaxy.

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With the increasing pressure of a growing human population it is becoming increasingly difficult to conserve natural habitats. Ultimately, not every green space can be afforded conservation protection. This field study encourages students to act as environmental scientists to compare different habitats and decide...