This resource provides six activities to teach science at primary level, whilst also learning about the Stone Age. The activities have been created using evidence from scientists and archaeologists working at sites close to Stonehenge, so are a great way of showing how scientific skills and knowledge can be used to...

Students examine the sugar content of potatoes in relation to emerging interest in the carcinogen acrylamide produced when potatoes are cooked at high temperatures. Employing cutting-edge techniques to genetically modify E. coli bacteria, they will insert the jellyfish gfp gene to make the...

This mathematical activity provides students with the opportunity to solve a realistic animal care problem and become active problem-solvers. Students are encouraged to make a mathematical model of a real-life situation, identifying and incorporating relevant factors, obtain information relevant to the problem,...

These The Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC) resources look at forces in real-life contexts. Students have an opportunity to learn about the properties of air and air resistance.

The context is that of a transport company looking for ways to reduce the drag of their lorries and so improve...

This resource features a task that explores setting up and solving simultaneous equations in a practical context.

Jon is buying fencing for his yard. Prices are given for different combinations of posts and panels. Students use information in the task to set up and then solve a solve a pair of simultaneous...

This KS2 resource supports learning about how living things can be classified into groups scientifically. Activities are based around tasks carried out in the ‘real world’ by scientists working for organisations such as Fera.

Activities include:

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This resource provides examples of solving problems using Fermi Estimates. These examples are similar to the ones covered in the resource "Estimates From Limited Data". The tasks may be suitable for group and internet access may be beneficial.

This resource contains a short presentation which introduces three problems where approximate solutions can be calculated.

The first activity asks students to use Fermi estimation to calculate the quantity of tea used in China in a three month period. Students are also invited to calculate an estimate of the...

A Fermi problem involves making estimates and using mathematics to answer a question, in more colloquial language they might be termed ‘back of envelope’ calculations.

Many of the questions don’t have clear cut answers, and sometimes alternative paths to solutions are possible.

The level of...

‘A secret of bees’ is a series of 7 problems that looks at an interesting feature of the family tree for bees. The series shows how to take a complicated problem and break it down into manageable parts. It is recommended that the sheets are given to students one at a time.

Initially a family tree for bees is...

‘Ball bouncing’ is a series of 7 problems that looks at what happens if you put a tennis ball on top of a basketball and then drop them both. This is done through mathematical modelling. The series shows how to take a complicated problem and break it down into manageable parts. It is recommended that the sheets are...

‘Interstellar flight’ is a series of 7 problems that plan for establishing a base in another solar system. The first four problems involve getting to the base, the final three focus on what to bring and whom to take along.

The mathematics required for the first problems include use of the formulae for...