This Catalyst article looks at the changing definition of the kilogram, a unit of mass and a base unit in the SI system (the International System of units). It has been found that the International Prototype Kilogram (IPK), made in 1879 and kept in a vault in Paris, has lost about 50microgrammes of mass over the...

The Naked Scientists are a group of physicists, science communicators, astronomers and researchers from Cambridge University. They use radio, live lectures and the internet to strip science down to its bare essentials and promote it to the general public.

Podcasts from the Naked Scientists are supported by...

This is one of the 18 Background Books published for Stage II of the Nuffield Chemistry Sample Scheme. The books were highly illustrated and designed to be attractive. This book outlines the chemical nitrogen problem and then describes the limitations of the Cyanamid process and the solution devised by Haber and...

This is one of the 18 Background Books published for Stage II of the Nuffield Chemistry Sample Scheme. The books were highly illustrated and designed to be attractive. This book describes aspects of the history of chemistry by exploring the developments that led to the Periodic Table.

There are 4 parts to...

Work done in this Nuffield 13 - 16 module followed from the S unit called ‘Circuits’. This D unit provided enough material for eight double periods during a Further Science course and built on the content of the S units for Single Science. The teachers’ guide included...

This resource provides a lesson plan showing how to use a board game to teach about the Periodic Table. The approach used in the lesson is based on education research which is summarised in a separate research summary document.

The lesson outlines how to create a game, that can be differentiated depending on...

This Unilever Laboratory Experiment describes the preparation of soap from a mixture of cooking oil and dripping. The leaflet was first published in 1964 and so lacks modern safety guidance. The procedure is authentic; it is designed to produce a convincing sample of soap. This means that it could be the basis of...

The method of preparation of a sulphonate paste described in this Unilever Laboratory Experiment is basically the same as that used by Unilever in the large-scale production of soapless detergents at the time of publication in 1964. The required reactants included an alkylbenzene hydrocarbon supplied by the...

Since 1799 the Royal Institution has been introducing new technologies and teaching science to the general public.  Their vision is " A world where everyone is inspired to think more deeply about science and its place in our lives."  They use their iconic Christmas...

The Royal Institution's 2022 Christmas Lectures - Secrets of forensic science, were...

This Unilever Laboratory Experiment, published in 1969, gives the procedure for using corrosion (ferroxyl) indicator to demonstrate anodic and cathodic areas on the surface of steel as it corrodes.