This Science upd8 resource revolves around the concepts of evidence and validity. A chocolate manufacturer claims its new, high cocoa bar is good for your heart.

But is it? This is the context for teaching students how to evaluate evidence and the 'how science works' concept of validity. The activity is...

Drawing on a number of leading London medical and science centres, sporting events and venues, this unit introduces the topics of nutrition and digestion, health and the skeletal and muscular systems. Each lesson offers students the chance to develop the skills required to work scientifically and to develop their...

Work done in this Nuffield 13 - 16 module followed from the unit called ‘Senses’. This B unit provided enough material for six double periods in the third year of secondary school (year nine). The teachers’ guide included seven worksheets to supplement the students’...

Aimed at Key Stage Two, this resource looks at the function of the heart, how exercise affects heart rate, and the rate of recovery after exercise. Linked to PE and the topic animals including humans, it also aims to develop ...

This resource uses the context of football to introduce a heart rate investigation. Students take part in suggested exercises and measure their heart rate and recovery time.  They need to plot of graph of their heart rate for different activities, and are encouraged to decide the axis and scale of the graph for...

In this challenge, students are asked to consider the impact of people suffering from heart conditions, both to the individual and to wider society. They then generate ideas for using programmable systems to improve people’s health, and to monitor themselves. A video introduces the idea of a heart rate monitor, and...

This field study provides the opportunity for students to use ecological survey techniques and conduct investigations to understand how the environmental (abiotic) conditions in a habitat can affect the presence and distribution of organisms. The resource provides a practical investigation of the relationship...

The main aim of this resource is for students to understand some of the conflicts surrounding land use in the UK – particularly the conflicts between economic incentives, society, and environmental conservation. The resource also provides a practical introduction to the complexities of managing habitats, with a...

The main aim of this resource is for students to understand the impact that roads can have on heathland habitats, both in terms of anthropogenic nitrogen pollution and habitat fragmentation.

The resource provides practical, scientific investigations without the need to organise a field trip. The...

This podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) was recorded at the Diamond Light Source in Oxfordshire, England and discusses how two researchers are using hi-tech physics to study different aspects of the environment.

The Diamond synchrotron is like...

This podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), looks back at some of the highlights from 12 months of Planet Earth podcasts, and looks ahead to some of the big stories expected in 2010.

Marine biologist Ben Wilson from the Scottish Association for...

In this SATIS Revisited resource students use real data to determine the cause of illness in cattle on a farm. They analyse the animals' diets to find that the illness is caused by mineral deficiency.

This unit has...

Scientists at the University of Oxford are investigating the link between sporting activity in young people and the development of osteoarthritis. In very active people, bony lesions can form on the hip joint which increases their risk of developing the condition.

In this activity students apply what they...

This resource, aimed at primary level and linked to the curriculum area of plants, investigates holly leaves. Designed to be used in an outdoor area where holly plants grow, it provides questions about holly leaves which children may investigate, for example, how many...

In this Science upd8 activity students analyse information and evidence about homeopathy to decide whether it is based on scientific theory. They then choose the best arguments for and against homeopathy to decide whether they would use it, and whether it should be freely available to all.