This resource, aimed at primary level, contains many activities related to plants, habitats, food chains and recycling. It looks at the features of different habitats and compares the plants that grow in each. Children learn about the features of plants and how certain...

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) has the goal of helping countries make informed decisions about how to improve teaching and learning in mathematics and science. This report summarizes the results of the TIMSS 2011 international mathematics assessment of fourth and eighth grade students...

Computers only have a limited amount of space to hold information, so they need to represent information as efficiently as possible. This is called compression. By coding data before it is stored, and decoding it when it is retrieved, the computer can store more data, or send it faster through the Internet. This...

APP Standards Files exemplify student work at different levels. Each Standards File includes:

*examples of evidence generated from students’ work in science, which have been assessed to exemplify the APP approach and show national standards

*commentary on the evidence for each AF, which leads to a...

A Catalyst article about the work of a scientist from the British Antarctic Survey, gathering data about climate change by studying ice cores from Antarctica. One of the areas of research was to find out whether it is possible to learn how much sea ice there was around Antarctica in the past by measuring how much...

A Catalyst article describing how a medical drug is made into a form which works well in the body. Medicines rarely contain just one pure chemical substance. The vast majority are made of a complex mixture that contains an active ingredient (the compound that has the desired effect in the body) and compounds called...

A Catalyst article devoted to food chains. This article looks at photosynthesis and the loss of energy from plants to animals throughout the food chain. How this limits the number of animals that can survive on the energy fixed by a patch of vegetation is explained. Foraging characteristics and how many animals can...

Sustainability is a high priority for the London organising committee for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This Catalyst article looks at their aim for all spectators to be able to get to the Olympic Park via public transport or by walking or cycling. In particular, the article focuses on the railway services...

In this activity, seeds are grown in Petri dishes so children can make direct observations of the roots as they grow. The activity requires measurements over a number of days, so provides an opportunity to link to numeracy by working out growth rate and representing...

A Catalyst article about giant asteroids. Astronomers say that, one day, a giant rock from space will collide with the Earth and cause mass devastation. This could lead to the extinction of many species, including humans. The article looks at what can be done to prepare for such an impact and what happened when a...

This Catalyst article describes how to make ice cream using a mixture of ice and salt, without the need of a freezer. Detailed instructions and an explanation of how it works is included, as well as a link to a video showing how the process can be sped up using liquid nitrogen.

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Module 6 of the STEM Projects Toolkit gives information on the many opportunities that students can take to present their projects in STEM competitions and fairs. The resource describes the practical steps to be taken to make a project ready for a competition or fair, including describing what the judges would be...

A Catalyst article about the Open-Air Laboratory (OPAL) project. Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) is an England-wide initiative that has received a grant from the Big Lottery Fund to bring scientists and local communities closer together. The project hopes to uncover new insights into the world by encouraging people to...

Almost every scientific experiment or industrial process requires a measurement of temperature. For example, the specification of the length of an object is meaningless without reference to the temperature at which the measurement was made. And all chemical and biological processes are intrinsically temperature-...

From the Institute of Physics (IOP) and the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM), these posters illustrate the uses of physics in medicine. The posters cover a range of topics, including:...