This activity introduces the idea that climate change is leading to a greater risk of flooding due to higher levels of rainfall in a short period of time. The main part of the activity is a design challenge for the pupils highlighting how...

These diagnostic questions and response activities (contained in the zip file) support students in being able to:

• Describe the speed at which the temperature increases along a thermal conductor compared to a thermal insulator

• Identify materials that are good thermal conductors or...

These diagnostic questions and response activities (contained in the zip file) support students in being able to:

• Identify which of two objects or substances has the most energy in its thermal store when the only difference between them is temperature

• Identify which of two objects...

These two short videos, produced by the National STEM Learning Centre, illustrate the process of thermal conductivity. The first video shows a demonstration of thermal conductivity using ice, plastic and aluminium...

RAL Space is the UK’s national space laboratory where our thermal engineers and technicians help design and build spacecraft. They make sure that the components will work correctly and are protected in the extreme temperatures of space by using a special type of insulation. In this activity and presentation, pupils...

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.

These thermochromic pigments are made up as a liquid paste compatible with any acrylic media. At normal room temperature the...

This resource supports students to understand the key properties of thermosetting and thermoforming polymers and provides examples of uses for these polymers. The resource contains a classroom presentation and student worksheet.

This Science upd8 activity illustrates practical applications of classroom science in the context of using sustainable building materials, and highlights several related various career routes. Students become members of a consultancy firm which specialises in sustainable building projects. They have to use their...

After thinking of a number, a series of steps is given that result in an answer that is independent of the initial number. There is scope to use fractions and directed numbers in the problem....

These activities, from the Association of Teachers of Mathematics (ATM) publication ‘Thinking for Ourselves’, provide a variety of contexts in which students are encouraged to think for themselves.

Activity 1: In the bag – More or less requires students to record how many more or...

This resource, produced by the Centre for Teaching Mathematics at the University of Plymouth, contains ten ‘puzzles to get the brain working!’

Each puzzle is designed to make students think laterally, consider the question carefully and not give the most obvious answer. The puzzles could be used as lesson...

The questions in the resources aim to provoke thinking and discussion in science lessons to consolidate and extend core curriculum knowledge and understanding.  They can be used as a stand-alone activity and require no preparation, although there is Teacher Guidance to accompany each  set of questions. You can...

These resources, produced by The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM), have been designed to encourage distinctive ways of thinking and learning as part of the NCETM professional development package.

Analysing reasoning and...

This activity, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), requires students to deconstruct a product, concept or design. The resource is designed to allow students to:

• understand that materials can be...