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

• Identify if a material is a composite.
• Recognise that materials within a composite keep their own properties.
• Predict properties of a composite material based on the...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). Composites are made by physically combining two or more materials. Many composite materials are used to provide strength and rigidity while using thinner, lighter components. However, they...

This sheet provides an overview of what happens during the composting process, thinking about the microorganisms involved in the decomposition of plant material. It offers ideas for monitoring temperature change within a compost heap over time and information on how to start your own compost heap.

Produced...

In this 5-minute video interview, Dr Drew Purves, Head of the Computational Ecology and Environmental Science Group at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK, discusses how his research can help us predict the effects of climate change on natural ecosystems,...

Programmers can program computers to learn to do certain tasks.  Although the programmer writes the initial program, as it is fed more data the computer changes the way that it carries out the task in order to improve its ability to perform it.  However, ...

Mathematics plays a vital part in space flight, it gives us a way both to predict what should happen in the future and also ways to measure what’s actually happening in the present, and adapt to it. In this resource we look at a few places where maths helps in space flight. The maths is made simple here (it’s far,...

With this simulation, students build an understanding of solution concentration by varying amounts of solute, solvent, and solution. Experimenting with several different chemicals in solid and concentrated solution form, students can develop qualitative and quantitative relationships.

Learning objectives...

This resource from Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS) is presented as a survival guide for students, describing how to handle numbers correctly, standard form, the use of scientific calculators, the definition of a mole, calculating molarity, Avogadro’s number, how to express concentrations and how to...

The idea of a concept cartoon, can be used to assess children’s ideas at the start or end of a topic. Look at the snowman’s coat concept cartoons, which misconceptions do you think children will have about thermal insulation? Think about the next science topic that you will be teaching and find out the...

This concept cartoon explores student's ideas about heat and insulation. A common misconception is that some materials have the property of making things warm. In this case because we have put coats on to keep warm there is a tendency to believe that the coat will also make the snowman warm so that it will melt...

This concept cartoon, from the Association for Science Education (ASE), is focusing on food and vegetarianism. Concept cartoons provide a new approach to teaching, learning and assessment in science, they feature cartoon-style drawings showing different characters...

This concept cartoon, provided by the Association for Science Education (ASE), focuses on light. Concept cartoons provide a new approach to teaching, learning and assessment in science, they feature cartoon-style drawings showing different characters arguing about everyday situations. They are designed to intrigue...

This concept cartoon, provided by the Association for Science Education (ASE), is focusing on weather forecasting. Concept cartoons provide a new approach to teaching, learning and assessment in science, they feature cartoon-style drawings showing different characters...