Light is one of the titles in the series of ASE Lab Books that were published in the early 1970s for the Association for Science Education by John Murray. Each title covered one or two topics and brought together the best of the teaching notes and experimental ideas...

This activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), looks at the properties and applications of waves in general, and the electromagnetic spectrum in particular. Students are asked to work out the type of electromagnetic radiation used in different...

This Catalyst article explores gravitational waves which have been observed for the first time, a century after they were first predicted by Albert Einstein.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2016, Volume 26, Issue 4.

These resources explores how engineers have used their knowledge of waves to improve lives.  The activities include:

• Using the reflection of light to create a floating image
• Investigating the best material for thermal resistance (insulation) in a survival suit

Curriculum links...

These diagnostic questions and response activities (contained in the zip file) support students in being able to:

• Identify wavelength and amplitude on pictures of transverse waves.
• Explain how a displacement-distance graph relates to the transverse wave it describes.
• Explain how a...

This video explains how two waves passing through each other interact through the process of superposition.

The resultant interference of waves at phase differences of 0⁰ or 360⁰ is constructive, they are additive.  Whereas phase differences of 180⁰ produce destructive interference, i.e., they cancel each...

Produced by Teachers TV, this video illustrates how enthusiastic science co-ordinator Katrine Shears gives hints and tips about successful investigations using her experiments on sound as an example. Year Six children at Bobbing Village Primary School are conducting their own investigations to find the most...

This video looks at the structural design of the O² building in Dublin. This is a built music venue with a capacity of 14,000 people, designed to provide unrestricted views and excellent acoustics. The film shows the exciting role of acoustic engineers and explains how they developed criteria from the...

The resources in this collection use everyday contexts, such as the design of music venues and airports, to encourage students to consider how materials need be tested for their suitability for a specific job before engineers in construction projects can choose them. The tasks ask students to think about what...

A Year 11 module from the Salters’ Key Stage Four double award science course. The science content of this module covers electromagnetism, the inductive effect and the motor effect. These topics are developed in the context of recording and reproducing sound. Students begin by recording and playing back their own...

Using the context of what it would be like for a child with hearing difficulties in school, children develop a set of survey questions to assess the noisiest places in school and work in small groups to survey the site and map their findings.

This activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), allows students to investigate the velocity of sound. Two methods, a direct method and an ICT based method, are proposed.

The activity is part...