Produced by Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), in this investigation, students look at the concentration of glucose in isotonic sports drinks. This enables students to see if the drinks are, in fact, isotonic with the blood.

In this investigation, students first produce a standard curve by testing...

This resource supports the teaching of instrumental analysis, including gas chromatography - mass spectrometry  (GS-MS) time of flight mass spectrometry, using the context of archaeology. This is done by relating the use of solvents, chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques to discoveries from the study of...

This resource suggests a number of investigations into bee behaviour which can be used to:

• develop an understanding of the interdependence of organisms in an ecosystem, including food webs and insect pollinated crops
• consider the importance of insect pollination in human food security
...

Produced by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, in this activity students translate DNA sequences into a series of amino acids to discover which protein is coded for and its function.

Students are supplied with a worksheet with DNA sequences and a codon wheel to decode the codons into amino acids. The amino...

These post-16 lesson plans look at Darwin’s pigeon breeding experiments and how they revealed the biology of inheritance and selection. Students will:

• Compare natural and artificial selection and be able to critically explain the difference between the two.
• Explore how Darwin used selective...

From ARKive, these resources help students to learn about the Galapagos Islands, their biodiversity and conservation. Through a series of activities, students look at: the scientific history and importance of the Galapagos Islands; the species that inhabit the islands including the concept of endemic species; the...

A number of scenarios are presented to encourage debate around genome sequencing. All teaching materials are provided.

• The interaction of genetic and environmental factors in influencing phenotype
• Ethical implications of genetic screening

Curriculum links:

• Sequencing...

Published by the Wellcome Trust, the 'Big Picture' explores issues around biology and medicine. The Earth's climate is changing ever faster, and human activities play a role in speeding up this change.

The Earth’s climate is changing. In fact, it has always been...

This field study provides the opportunity for students to use ecological survey techniques and conduct investigations to understand how the environmental (abiotic) conditions in a habitat can affect the presence and distribution of organisms. The resource provides a practical investigation of the relationship...

The main aim of this resource is for students to understand some of the conflicts surrounding land use in the UK – particularly the conflicts between economic incentives, society, and environmental conservation. The resource also provides a practical introduction to the complexities of managing habitats, with a...

The main aim of this resource is for students to understand the impact that roads can have on heathland habitats, both in terms of anthropogenic nitrogen pollution and habitat fragmentation.

The resource provides practical, scientific investigations without the need to organise a field trip. The...

This presentation and collection of short activities, from Eurostemcell, introduce basic stem cell concepts and include teacher’s notes with each slide and useful diagrams. The materials include:

 Presentation: Introducing stem cells

• Stem cell biology basics: for post-16 students,...

This resource is an interactive activity which aims to provide an introduction to the lowland heathland habitat. The five topics relating to lowland heathlands covered by the resources include: • The biotic components of lowland heathlands, focusing on plants • The biotic components of lowland heathlands, focusing...

These materials contain a range of activities where students use real genomic data from the Cancer Genome Project at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute to find mutations in a gene associated with pancreatic cancer. Students mark the locations of the mutations on a gene sequence banner and record the results on...