This film, from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, explains the process of nuclear fusion. Culham Centre for Fusion Energy is one of the world's leading fusion research laboratories, where scientists and engineers are working with partners around the globe to develop fusion as a new source of clean energy for...

Using the data from CensusAtSchool 2006/2007, this data analysis resource looks at trends in life expectancy in populations. Students consider both the primary data collected from CensusAtSchool and secondary data about life expectancy and major causes of death. A plenary asks students to consider what they have...

In this topic from the Association for Science Education, students study the life cycles of plants and the adaptation of plants to different environments. The topic allows classes in schools across the world to exchange information about plant cultivation. The topic also provides a context for studying plant...

This field study resource pack encourages students to act as environmental scientists to assess the ‘health’ of a heathland habitat. The resource contains three separate activities that students can complete, depending on the time available and suitability of the site:
• Measuring nitrogen pollution in the...

This practical activity uses a simple and convenient model of the real environment in order to demonstrate the principles of random sampling and how to estimate biodiversity. Students use different coloured sugar balls to represent different species in order to put Simpson's Diversity Index to the test, which takes...

This resource considers how pollution from copper mines affects growth of plants, including a data analysis activity and a practical. The resource aims to address aspects of working scientifically.

The materials...

A Catalyst article about a Kenyan scientist who is searching for better treatments for malaria, a disease which kills more than a million people in Africa each year. The article also explains some of the challenges of doing science in Africa, where funding is low. Often the illness shows a remarkable ability to...

A Catalyst article about ants. A colony consists of hundreds, even thousands, of ants working diligently and cooperatively, perhaps to kill and carry a large prey item, build a large nest structure or develop and use road-like networks for foraging. Collectively, colonies of social insects can do amazing things and...

This activity highlights...

In this activity students use a smartphone to determine the precise amount of copper in an aqueous solution of nitric acid. Students collect comparative values of different copper-solutions with special apps to produce a diagram and estimate the amount of copper, based on the Lambert-Beer Law that explains that the...

This starter activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), introduces students to how animals use sounds and how sounds change in natural phenomena in order to better understand how sound waves travel.