In this practical protocol students investigate one way in which bacteria acquire antibiotic resistance through conjugation - horizontal gene transfer from one bacterial strain or species to another.

Plasmid-mediated evolution is fast because whole functional ‘modules’ are lost and gained, rather than the...

Produced by Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), this investigation looks at end-product inhibition of the enzyme phosphatase. 

The investigation is designed for students following a Scottish Highers course but it is equally useful for other post-16 courses in biology. 

This investigation involves...

Produced by Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), this activity enables students to investigate the effects of the plant hormone indole acetic acid (IAA) on root growth in mustard seedlings.

Different concentrations of IAA appear to have differing effects on root growth. These effects may vary from one...

Produced by Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), this activity enables students to investigate the effects of different concentrations of nitrates, phosphates and potassium on the growth of radish seedlings.

After sowing, the radish seedlings are kept well watered, in a warm temperature under constant...

Produced by Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), this investigation enables students to investigate the response of leaf discs from sun and shade plants to green light

Leaf discs from a sun plant and a shade plant are put in a sodium hydrogen carbonate solution. The rate of photosynthesis is seen by how...

This Unilever Laboratory Experiment, published in 1970, describes the analysis of fluorescers from soap and soapless detergent powders. The procedure describes how the fluorescers can be extracted from the product, separated by thin layer chromatography techniques, and made visible by exposing the chromatograms to...

Whey is a waste product from the cheese industry. In this experiment students upgrade whey, by converting the lactose into glucose and galactose, or by growing the microorganism K.lactis on agar containing whey.

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These activities provide the standard procedures for methods which may be employed to measure blood pressure at the beginning and end of a fitness programme. Methods are provided for automatic digital devices, for using a manually inflated cuff and stethoscope and for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. 

Produced by The Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC), the activities in this resource allow students to examine science concepts applicable to the healthcare industries and the work of people in the sector.

The activities in the resources cover areas that include:
* Determination of the...

This resource pack can be used to highlight issues such as global water scarcity, the challenges people face when sourcing water and maintaining a water supply in developing countries and the role of the engineers in solving these problems.

Following a quick quiz, a presentation introduces the scale of local...

This investigation, produced by Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), shows how students could investigate the changes in water potential of fruits and vegetables during ripening and storage.

Simple biomechanical...

The We Are Aliens! teaching resources were produced to support the planetarium show made by NSC Creative. They have been produced by lead educators from the National Space Academy to use the context of space to teach physics, chemistry and biology in the curriculum. The resources contain practical activities,...

This student sheet invites students to consider lignification in detail. Students take thin sections from successive internodes of the shoot and calculate the lignification index of each section. These can then be compared with sections from other parts of the plants to consider where lignin is deposited in other...

Produced by Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), this activity enables students to:
•    develop knowledge and understanding of structural defence mechanisms in plants
•    develop problem solving skills
•    demonstrate the processing of information and use of calculations

The...