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

• Recognise that a diagram of electron arrangement is a model and not a copy of reality.
• Describe a model of metallic structure (positive ions and ‘free’ outer electrons).         ...

This Catalyst article looks at metals and alloys which play an important role in construction at the Olympic site, both in sports equipment and in medals. Designers must consider the properties of the materials used to make both sports equipment and buildings. These include strength, density, toughness, ductility...

Cryptographic techniques enable information to be shared with other people, yet still maintain a surprisingly high level of privacy. This activity illustrates a situation where information is shared, and yet none of it is revealed: a group of students will calculate their average age without anyone having to reveal...

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

• Use properties to identify that an object is made of metal.

• Use properties to identify that an object is made off a ceramic.

• Recognise that polymers...

This series of resources has been created for use by teachers and/or Environment Agency STEM Ambassadors to teach pupils about the importance of biodiversity for all living creatures including humans...

This series of resources have been created for use by teachers and/or Environment Agency STEM Ambassadors to teach pupils about the impact of climate change on flooding. They also highlight the role of the Environment Agency in mitigating the effects of flooding and the...

This Catalyst article looks at the work of field ecologists, discussing how ecological studies require the gathering and processing of large amounts of data. This article looks at how ant populations are studied in the field and how their study can produce information about the way living organisms exist in the...

The core of this Nuffield Working with Science unit is made up of sections covering the preparation and testing of beer, the science of brewing, and the effects of alcohol consumption.

Guidance for teachers and...

Even though computers are fast, there is a limit to how quickly they can solve problems. One way to speed things up is to use several computers to solve different parts of a problem. In this activity sorting networks are used to do several sorting comparisons at the same time. This resource begins with a discussion...

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

• Identify if a material is a composite.
• Recognise that materials within a composite keep their own properties.
• Predict properties of a composite material based on the...

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

• Describe how forces always arise in pairs

• Label force arrows to describe the action of the force

• Represent the size and direction of a force with an...

This Catalyst article looks at how the structure and properties of chocolate change when it is melted and re-solidified. An experiment is described in which the differences between solid chocolate, and chocolate which has been melted and re-hardened can be found, along with a detailed explanation of the physics...

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

• Predict when there will be a magnetic field around a wire.   
• Describe factors that change the strength of a magnetic field around a wire.         
• Describe the magnetic...

Exoplanets are planets that orbit stars other than our Sun. This resource was developed to help bring this new and exciting area of research into the classroom. It consists of five practical activities matched to the 11-14 curriculum. Each of the activities is standalone, takes around 40 minutes to complete and can...

A Catalyst article discussing how the human body has to handle all sorts of variations, balancing its inputs and outputs, if it is to work efficiently. The article concentrates on one organ, the kidney, and the way it helps to keep things on an even keel through the functions of homeostasis and excretion. What...