From The Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC), this information booklet is useful for those wishing to develop successful partnerships between schools and local science-based industries. It is a collection of papers that describe how different groups have encountered and handled major issues and...

This Catalyst article explains how zeolites, sponge-like materials developed from naturally occurring minerals, are used as chemical sieves and as catalysts. Zeolites have incredibly widespread applications. They are used in consumer products such as washing powder and cat litter while many of the petrochemicals...

This is one of the 18 Background Books published for Stage II of the Nuffield Chemistry Sample Scheme. The books were highly illustrated and designed to be attractive. This book explores the chemical ideas related to solubilility and solutions. The main ideas covered are:
*what happens when a substance...

This Catalyst article looks at how people lived in the past, archaeologists look at the items (artefacts) these cultures left behind. Using chemical analysis of residues in the artefacts an enormous amount of additional information can be gleaned. This article investigates early dairy farming. Analysis of tiny...

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...

This activity from the Institute of Physics discusses energy transfer in electric circuits and links this, by analogy, to other more familiar examples.

The activities include:
• demonstrations of human and lemon-powered batteries to illustrate that that there is nothing special about the chemical...

A Catalyst article about what happens as plants grow. During their growth, plants remove compounds of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium from soil which need to be replaced to maintain the soil’s fertility. For centuries farmers have used organic manures, crop rotation or ploughed in specially grown crops; today...

This Salters’ Chemistry Course unit from the University of York Science Education Group covered:
* The concept of foods as mixtures of chemical substances
* A comparison of foods and fuels
* The energy content of different foods
* The role and...

Produced by Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), these materials look at the work of plant research scientist, Jess Chu. Through investigating vitamin C in plants, students gain a greater understanding of the career opportunities available in plant biology.

This activity, produced by Solar Spark, uses "magic dye", a mixture of three different dye molecules. The mixture contains a yellow disperse dye, a direct blue dye and an acid red dye. When a fabric is put into the mixture, the dyes only attach to the types of fabrics they can bond well with. For example, the blue...

A Catalyst article about the rock cycle which is responsible for the formation of many different types of rocks and minerals. The article explores the formation of minerals, their chemical composition and internal structure together with the reason for mineral hardness. As silicates form a third of all known...

A Catalyst article looking at how modern archaeology uses analytical chemical techniques to answer questions about ancient civilisations and animals. Scientists working at the University of Bristol match compounds present in archaeological materials to those in modern plants and animals which were likely to have...

The Nuffield Advanced Biology Topic Reviews for students were an integral part of the Advanced Biological Science materials, but each could be read on its own. Thus, students could use them for their current work, or to pursue personal interests.

This topic review dealt in a general way with some aspects of...

Work done in this Nuffield 13 - 16 module followed from the B unit called ‘Charged particles’. This S unit provided enough material for eight double periods during a single-certificate science course. The teachers’ guide included nine worksheets to supplement the...