This video demonstrates how compressing a gas increases its temperature. A small piece of cotton wool is placed into the bottom of a narrow plastic tube. When the air is rapidly compressed by a piston, the air temperature increases and the cotton ignites. The 'fire piston' can be used to illustrates the transfer of...

These downloadable videos and animations are part of the multimedia package Stuff and Substance, developed by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). They can be used to develop ideas relating to the distinction between combustion and decomposition in the...

These downloadable videos and animations are part of the multimedia package Stuff and Substance, developed by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). They can be used to develop ideas relating to flames, from hydrogen to candle wax.

An ideal lesson plan for the lead up to fireworks night! This is about making sparkles flash with random intervals and colours. It can also be made more difficult by using LDRs.

This Bowland assessment task requires students to plan when they should start preparing a meal in order to have it ready by a stated time. Students are given a number of job cards. Each card explains what needs to be done, how long the job will take and a condition as to when the job should be completed. Students...

This podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) looks at how the famous White Cliffs of Dover could be made of fish poo (at least partially), why one researcher is so interested in dead whales, and why the Japan earthquake was so powerful and devastating....

In this video, Matt describes how he became a fisheries technical officer for the Environment Agency. His job is to monitor river habitats and fish populations, including improving the habitat and restocking fish after any pollution incidents.

The video could be used to introduce units of work including...

From the Centre for Science Education, the RA3 project aims to bring parents together with their children and teachers to explore the worlds of science.

Children and families are challenged to design a sea-life attraction. They must consider the budgets, habitats involved, range of tanks to be built and the...

This activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), explores the qualities and/or properties which make a material fit for purpose. The resource is designed to allow students to:

• understand that...

This activity involves a series of discussions and ranking activities to develop students understanding of the link between fitness, pulse rate, respiration and activity. It can be used as an introduction to the ...

What are the different types of bridge and how do they cope with the loads put on them?

Lesson Objectives

• The student could research and explore the way forces affect bridges and discuss how to explain this information to the intended user group.
• They should categorise...

Fixperts is an award-winning, hands-on learning programme that challenges young people to use their imagination and skills to create ingenious solutions to everyday problems. The programme is equally relevant to design and technology, engineering and as a STEM enrichment activity.  

This set of resources can...

This resource investigates the use of flavourings in a milkshake. Natural and artificial vanilla flavourings are used to manufacture the product and a taste panel used to judge the preferred flavour. Costs of manufacture are also calculated in the activity.

Many of the chemicals we use as drugs, flavourings and perfumes originate from natural sources but often the most economical way of obtaining them is to produce them artificially on an industrial scale. Scientists at the University of Oxford are researching into how to...

In Flesh Eaters, provided by the Association for Science Education (ASE), students are challenged to unravel a bizarre crime using their scientific skills.

Flesh Eaters is a 'learning adventure'. It combines computer-...