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Nuffield Foundation
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These resources have been reviewed and selected by STEM Learning’s team of education specialists for factual accuracy and relevance to teaching STEM subjects in UK schools.
Indices and Molecules
From the Nuffield Foundation, the purpose of this module is to introduce students to index notation and standard form on the way to the determination of the size of a molecule. It builds up from simple rice-counting and paper-cutting to experiments in chemistry and physics which give a good approximation to molecular size.
This module suggests joint working by a mathematics teacher and a science teacher and that at least some of the work is done in a science laboratory.
The resource includes:
* Notes for the teacher including a brief overview of the content of the workcards and references to other resources.
* A cards and notes: two cards introducing standard form with one significant figure and a positive index.
* B cards and notes: covers powers of 2 via the story of the Indian Vizier and the grains of wheat on a chessboard.
* C cards and notes: introduces negative powers of 2 and 10.
* D card and notes: this card uses an experiment involving successive diluting of a solution to arrive at an approximate value of the mass of a molecule.
* E cards and notes: extends the use of standard form and includes an experiment to estimate the length of an oil-molecule.
There are 17 workcards and associated teachers' notes which include pre-requisite knowledge as well as a list of material needed for the science laboratory experiments. Each card has detailed ‘Notes for the teacher’ and most cards have ‘Notes for the pupil’.
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Downloads
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Teachers' notes 200.31 KB
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A cards and notes 199.07 KB
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B cards and notes 217 KB
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C cards and notes 212.21 KB
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D cards and notes 203.84 KB
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E cards and notes 208.54 KB
Show downloads
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Teachers' notes 200.31 KB -
A cards and notes 199.07 KB
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B cards and notes 217 KB
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C cards and notes 212.21 KB
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D cards and notes 203.84 KB
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E cards and notes 208.54 KB
Download all files as a .zip1.16 MB
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