This outreach programme aimed to build upon good practice from the Royal Society of Chemistry's (RSC) project Chemistry for our Future, and to develop new activities which could then be used with the RSC’s Spectroscopy in a Suitcase (SIAS) equipment. It explored appropriate contexts which may appeal to students...

The aim of this investigation is to measure the wavelengths in a spectrum of gas e.g. sodium or cadmium. It is expected that the students will calculate the wavelengths of a number of lines in the first order spectrum.

A quick game, from the ASE SYCD: Science Year Primary CD-ROM, for up to four pupils to reinforce their knowledge of some aspects of Physical Processes.

The resource comprises of cards and instructions for playing the game. Pupils compete to collect the starts and ends of statements or questions. Areas...

This quick game is provided by ASE and it aims to recap and reinforce students' knowledge of some aspects of physical processes. The resource comprises of cards and instructions for playing the game. Students compete to collect the beginning and end of statements or questions. Areas covered are electricity, forces...

This module from the Nuffield Foundation gives an attempt to relate the gradient of a graph to the rate of displacement of an object which moves with time. This can be summed up in the phrase 'faster is steeper'. The module is in three sections, each of which is based...

A different investigation to calculate the speed of sound in air using an air column in a tube.  Very easy to set up and take measurements, which is ideal for a class practical.

This video links well to the Scalars and vectors resource.  It explains the difference between speed and velocity in more detail by introducing velocity as the rate of change of displacement (as opposed to distance).

The equation v = ^s/...

A Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council (BBSRC) resource containing information about the biology of spiders. Suitable for teachers who want to know more about spiders, the resource contains information including descriptions of body structure, feeding, mating and spiders' webs. BBSRC is a part of...

This video poses a problem of a spinning tube which has an X and O written on either end.  If the tube is spun from the X end only an X is seen.  Likewise, if the tube is spun from the O end only a O is seen.

A camera is placed underneath a glass table and students asked to predict what would be seen if the...

In this podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Sue Nelson hears about the birth of an ocean in the Afar depression in the Horn of Africa. The continental crust is being ripped apart at a phenomenal rate – one metre every year over the last five years. In...

A Catalyst article looking at which type of radiation is absorbed and emitted through spectroscopy. This is the study of the wavelengths of light which allows us to identify the substances present in the source. This investigation provides a lot of useful information about a compound. It is used in a very wide...

Spooky Space Sounds contains a PowerPoint presentation which showcases sounds from space. The presentation aims to introduce general concepts and give a sense of how dynamic the Universe is. The resource also contains a Word document of teachers' notes with detailed descriptions and background information on each...

Spooky Space contains activities, teaching materials and examples of students’ work for teaching space at primary level within science lessons and as a stimulus for enriching the teaching of other curriculum areas. This collection is comprised of material developed by Pete Edwards, Durham University, in partnership...

This video shows how pulling a rope wound around the inner core to the right of a spool creates a torque that must move the spool also to the right.  Whereas doing the same experiment with a toilet roll has the opposite effect.  The roll moves in the opposite direction because the paper is attached to the outside...

This Nuffield Working with Science unit was designed to give the student the opportunity to work scientifically and to acquire some of the positive attitudes associated with informed opinions and the use of objective argument based on evidence. It was also hoped that...