A Catalyst article comparing mobile phones and UV sunbeds. Mobile phones emit radiofrequency (RF) radiation. Tanning beds emit ultraviolet (UV) radiation. These are both types of non-ionising radiation. In recent years both have received considerable media coverage and they are emotive topics for the general public...

STEM Learning primary magazine – autumn 2017

In this issue you can get some whizpopping ideas for Roald Dahl Day from Karen Brunyee. The magazine also features the...

A Catalyst article about why human beings need salt (sodium chloride) in their diets to survive, but too much can be toxic. Where does salt come from, and what is it used for? This article looks at salt extraction and mining in England, the domestic and industrial uses of salt as well as its molecular structure....

A Catalyst article about light pollution which is a growing problem, especially for astronomers, obscuring the view of the Moon, stars and planets. Astronomers are campaigning to reduce the pollution and bring the night sky back into view. With the aid of statistics the article makes the case for better street...

These activities, produced by Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme, help students to categorise different types of visual representations.

Students are given a large number of different visual representations dealing with a range of scientific subjects. Through a 'happy families-style' card-game, students...

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

• Describe how the sensation of hotness is caused by vibrating particles.
• Describe the mechanism of thermal conduction that can occur in all solids.
• Explain why metals are...

A Catalyst article looking at which type of radiation is absorbed and emitted through spectroscopy. This is the study of the wavelengths of light which allows us to identify the substances present in the source. This investigation provides a lot of useful information about a compound. It is used in a very wide...

A Catalyst article about the many uses of superconductors. The article looks at what the 1700 magnets at the Large Hadron Collider and power cables in Detroit have in common. Both use superconductors - materials which, when cooled below a certain temperature, lose all their electrical resistance, and display some...

This Catalyst article explores how microbes communicate and how, by growing two different microbes together, it is possible to discover new substances which may be useful in medicine. Microbial communication happens by small bioactive molecules which the cells release into and receive from the environment. In this...

Nuffield Working with Science Teachers’ Notes F, from the first edition, provides teacher and technicians guidance for the six maxi-units listed under contents.

Guidance for the two units from this set that also...

This Catalyst article looks at the changing definition of the kilogram, a unit of mass and a base unit in the SI system (the International System of units). It has been found that the International Prototype Kilogram (IPK), made in 1879 and kept in a vault in Paris, has lost about 50microgrammes of mass over the...

This Catalyst article looks at the production of rice, which is a staple food for billions of people. It describes how crop scientists have identified varieties of rice with favourable characteristics, such as flood resistance, and are using them to develop crops with increased yield. Such crops may help to...

A Nature of Science reader that tells the story of how scientists have searched for some simple substances from which everything else might be made. The story starts with the discovery that fire could help to obtain metals from rocks and ends with Mendeleev’s triumphant discovery of the periodic law and the...

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

• Describe how the sensation of hotness is caused by vibrating particles.
• Describe the mechanism of thermal conduction that can occur in all solids.
• Explain why metals are...