Although this activity is not in the form of a lesson plan, the activity illustrates a good series of steps that students could either work through as a class, or in smaller groups/pairs. They could then be asked to pick from a selection of...

The purpose of this guidance, published in 2008, is to help schools in areas where ‘gangs’ or offending by groups of young people may be of particular concern. It provides:

• information...

This Catalyst article investigates how plants can be grown in orbiting spacecraft and how this may be useful in future manned space missions.

The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3.

Catalyst is a...

This simulation allows students to pump gas molecules into a box and see what happens as you change the volume, add or remove heat, change gravity, and more. They can measure the temperature and pressure, and discover how the properties of the gas vary in relation to each other.

Sample learning objectives...

Act 1

Three petrol station pumps are shown with the amount of fuel and price being shown. Which of these gas pumps are trying to rip you off?

The Gravity Jet Suits use five small gas turbines to create enough lift for a human to fly.  This resource explains how the gas turbines work, and how this relates to Boyle's Law.

This Catalyst article looks at how you can collect iron micro-meteorites using a magnet. 

The SEP (Science Enhancement Programme) was set up in 1998, by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, to develop innovative, low-cost resources to enhance secondary science education, and provide support for science teachers. An extensive set of publications was produced including SEP’s range of high-quality...

A Catalyst article explaining how a Geiger counter works through the use of captioned illustrations.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1.

Catalyst is a science magazine for students aged 14-19 years...

A Catalyst article looking at how gel electrophoresis is used in DNA fingerprinting. Gel electrophoresis is used to separate big molecules, in particular nucleic acids and proteins. To learn more about the structure and function of large molecules such as DNA and proteins, they can be broken up into smaller...

Gelli Baff, a crystalline powder, has been dumped into a bathtub filled with water. How can you force the hydrogel to go down the plughole in order to drain the bathtub? 

In this investigation, students learn about swelling reactions, balanced reactions, and polymerisation. Students should be able to...

This resource investigates the use of pectin as a natural gelling agent in the manufacture of jams and preserves to retain their viscosity. A worksheet based task acts as an introduction, leading to investigations to identify the conditions necessary for gel formation using liquid pectin.

This short film from the Technology Enhancement Programme (TEP) is one of a series of clips which were produced to demonstrate the properties and use of a range of smart materials.

This unusual gel may be combined with fragrance compounds, such as aromatherapy oils, to produce air fresheners. However, some...