Comets are considered to be time capsules containing information about the conditions of the early Solar System. In order to understand what comets are, where they come from, and their influence on the evolution of Earth, it is necessary to find out what material they contain. This teacher demonstration and student...

These activities, from the Institute of Physics, look at electrical circuits. They provide a review of previous knowledge and introduce the language needed to cope with the greater depth of learning at post-16 level. Activities include: • a discussion about electrical circuits to reinforce knowledge and highlight...

In this learning episode from the Institute of Physics, students are introduced to capacitors. Through practical investigations, students look at their charge and discharge process.

The activities include:
•...

In this learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, students look at the forces involved when one vehicle impacts another object. This can be used to illustrate the forces, acceleration and deceleration involved. It considers the effect of the distance over which a force acts rather than the time of action of...

Produced by the Institute of Physics, this learning episode enables students to appreciate that there is a continuous interchange between potential and kinetic energy during simple harmonic motion. Students are also shown the mathematical basis for calculating energy.

The activities include:
•...

In this learning episode from the Institute of Physics, through a demonstration and the production of a presentation, students extend their understanding of the nature of different types of electromagnetic radiation, and considers their shared nature.

The activities look at:
• using heat detector and...

This learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, uses laser light to demonstrate the phenomenon of diffraction and then applies this understanding to x-rays, Bragg's law and crystallography.

The activities in this episode look at:
• students’ knowledge of X-rays
• diffraction and the limits...

Computers are usually programmed using a “language,” which is a limited vocabulary of instructions that can be obeyed. This activity gives students some experience with this aspect of programming. The resource begins with a demonstration of the marching order activity followed by the activity itself, together with...

This video shows how interference from two sound wave sources can produce both constructive (louder sound) and destructive (softer sound) interference patterns.  A demonstration using microwaves reinforces this idea. Microwaves are generated and passed through a double slit.  The resultant interference of waves is...