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 describes applications of chemistry to making plastics and explaining their properties.

There are 5 parts to this book:
*Part...

A Catalyst article discussing how polymers affect every day of people’s lives. With diverse characteristics and applications their usefulness can only be limited by human imagination. Due to polymers’ widespread and varied use a responsible and systematic recycling programme is both economically and environmentally...

Produced by The Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC), these resources help to put curriculum science in a real life context. In these activities, children test and classify plastics before investigating their thermal insulation and shock resistance properties. The children then design, make and test a...

This Salters’ Chemistry Course unit from the University of York Science Education Group covered:
* The preparation of plastics by polymerization.
* The importance of ethene as a source of plastics.
* The uses and properties of plastics.
* The use of...

A podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Scientists recently found plastics floating in some of the most remote and inaccessible seas in the world, just off the coast of Antarctica. Although it clearly looks ugly in such a pristine environment,...

Produced by The Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC), this booklet contains information and activities of interest to teachers of design and technology. It looks at working practices in industry and schools relating to thermoplastics and provides an introduction to basic techniques for schools and the...

A Catalyst article about the problems of recycling plastics. The article looks at novel uses for products made from recycled plastics. It also looks at the make-up of polymers and the history of their manufacture. Finally, alternatives to plastics are examined.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science...

This resource, from the Royal Institution, provides a practical experience which introduces students to the classification of 3D shapes. Modelling equipment is used to construct solids and explore possible shapes that can be formed with only triangular, square or pentagonal faces. Students also learn about Platonic...

Alexandra Park School developed a Structures project. A STEM Ambassador who was a structural engineer visited at the end of the unit to review their project, tell the students about Structural Engineering as a career, and to give them a deeper understanding of resonance – an important consideration when designing...

This activity from Cre8ate maths involves students in designing a playground. They will have to decide upon a suitable outdoor space and consider key features relevant to their design. Scaled templates can be used to trial several layouts giving consideration to safety...

This resource asks students to consider the properties of 'number cubes' - or dice. There are three questions to investigate, including rearranging the dots so that the difference between opposite sides is always constant. The extension ask students to consider different kinds of dice and an invitation to think of...