Successful scientists require a broad range of skills and attributes in order to achieve, and have recognition of, their successes. Central and pivotal to these skills is the mastery of number and a proficiency in mathematics. In science lessons students frequently rely...

This report from Ofsted draws on the results of visits by inspectors to 94 primary, 94 secondary schools and two special schools between June 2007 and March 2010. These schools were selected broadly to represent the profile of schools in England, but excluded schools in Ofsted’s categories of concern. It also draws...

Good practical lessons don’t just happen, they are well-planned, prepared, introduced and concluded.

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From the National Non-Food Crops Centre, this factsheet gives an overview of the current and potential market for biorenewable succinic acid. This is generally derived from petrochemicals and used in applications such as food and drinks, pharmaceuticals, solvents and biodegradable plastics. This factsheet also...

From Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), this practical activity was developed for Scottish Highers specifications, but the protocol can equally well be used for other specifications.

Students sterilise seeds of...

This resource was produced to get students working in teams and understanding the scientific and industrial processes involved in sugar making. The resource consists of 23 cards detailing each step of the sugar making process, which students are asked to arrange in the correct order to go from harvesting the sugar...

This is one of the 14 Background Books published for Stage III of the Nuffield Chemistry Sample Scheme. The books were highly illustrated and designed to be attractive. This book describes the production and use of an industrially important acid..

There are four parts to this book:
*Part 1: A history...

Celebrate the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games with these classroom resources.

This resource describes how engineers at Rolls Royce apply physics and chemistry in the development of their engines, including how materials behave in extreme conditions, aerodynamics, thermodynamics, the use of computer modelling to look at forces and energy transfers, and the use of maths in performance...

This case study from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) archives looks at how sheets of carbon just a single atom thick could herald a new generation of electronics devices thanks to research supported by EPSRC.

Graphene is incredibly thin and flexible, yet it is also the...

A Catalyst article about the many uses of superconductors. The article looks at what the 1700 magnets at the Large Hadron Collider and power cables in Detroit have in common. Both use superconductors - materials which, when cooled below a certain temperature, lose all their electrical resistance, and display some...

This Unilever Laboratory Experiment, published in 1967, describes an experiment to measure the contraction of hair in a hot solution of phenol. The procedure is based on a school-made apparatus to measure the changes of length. The results are discussed in terms of hydrogen bonding and disulphide bonds between...

This video explains how nucleation in impure water helps it to transition from liquid to solid, yet in very pure water this is far harder.  Supercooled water (water cooled below its freezing point, yet still liquid) is made. The bottom of the bottle is hit against a table and ice crystals instantly form.  This is...

This Catalyst article investigates x-rays. X-rays are used in security scanning and medical diagnosis. Efforts are always being made to reduce the hazard of working with these electromagnetic rays.

The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2014, Volume 25, Issue 2.

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