Students are presented with two mobile phone tariffs and have to explore at what point one tariff becomes better value than the other. They have to select a way of comparing the tariffs using appropriate graphs or tables, work systematically to explore the effects of changing the amount of time the phone is in use...

In this activity, students investigate the potential effects to health of the use of mobile phones and their transmitters, which use radio waves and microwaves to transmit information. Research can include the electromagnetic spectrum and its applications and how energy...

Students use an Excel spreadsheet to calculate mobile phone bills. They compare mobile phone tariffs to see which one is the best for someone to use.

This resource is part of the Nuffield Maths Level 1 Foundation resource collection.

Microwaves are a form of electromagnetic radiation and they penetrate into human tissue. There is still a significant debate about the safety of holding even a low power microwave transmitter next to your brain or keeping it in a trouser pocket. The possibility of...

This Science upd8 resource examines what proof there is that mobile telephones are harmful. Policy makers usually follow the precautionary principle. They issue warnings at the first hint of danger. Should we take their advice? In this discussion activity, students judge the risks and the strength of the evidence...

Three cars drive on a highway twisted into a Mobius strip. Each car stays in its lane and are driven at the same speed. The challenge is to work out what will happen and if the cars will ever meet. This resource is suitable for Key Stage 3.

• ...

The cell is the smallest unit of life and for many millennia single celled organisms were the only form of life on Earth. It’s this type of life that astrobiologists are looking for elsewhere in the solar system. In this activity, wallpaper paste is used to build model cells Curriculum areas covered: • Cell biology...

Produced by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, in this activity students have to use their observational skills to identify and record the difference (phenotypic change) between two images, one wild type zebra fish and one mutant zebra fish.

To aid in their diagnosis of the phenotypic change, a glossary...

This resource from the IET Faraday programme, supported by MEI and Tomorrow's Engineers, invites students to model the journey of a toy boat crossing a river which has a current of 3m/s.

"Two friends are on opposite banks of a river which is 30m wide. One of them has a model boat...

In this activity from the Nuffield Foundation, students match descriptions of a variety of real scenarios involving motion with the corresponding velocity–time and displacement–time graphs. Several issues will be discussed while completing this task and students will also have to consider how realistic or...

These resources exemplify the way practical work can be used alongside a pedagogical approach called model-based inquiry. This is based upon generating, testing and revising scientific models. Being primarily centred round collaborative and cooperative styles of learning, it also places particular emphasis upon the...

This problem solving resource uses linear functions to model real world data about car skid marks. The work assumes students are familiar with substitution and drawing straight line graphs.

The problem is set in the context of investigating car accidents. When a car suddenly brakes to a stop, it can leave...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP) and produced in partnership with the Walker Institute for Climate System Research. Climate scientists do not have a ‘climate in a test tube’ to try out their ideas, so to understand the...

From Teachers TV Lesson Planning Pack series, this video shows an example of how a lesson can introduce children to the idea of light travelling in a straight line. Rachel Dixon, a Year Six teacher at Ripple Primary School in Barking, presents her lesson on light. She aims to get her children to understand that...