This resource is designed to meet the specifications for the A-level practical endorsement in England (CPAC). However, it will make a valuable guide to dissection and scientific drawing of a flower for those following a variety of different specifications.

The ability to accurately observe, dissect and...

Produced by the Science Museum, this resource sees students working in groups to explore the issues surrounding genetic testing. Students receive a sealed secret box, that contains a chance card. Opening the box represents taking a genetic test. Students have to decide whether they would want to open the box. In...

Published by the Wellcome Trust, the 'Big Picture' explores issues around biology and medicine.

While providing immense benefits, drugs are not the perfect solution. They only work on a proportion of patients,...

These activities allow students to model how environmental scientists compare diversity in different ecosystems by using ordinary playing cards as ‘species’ to generate data to calculate Simpson’s Diversity Index. This can be completed in a single lesson. Some students find the concept of species diversity quite...

In this activity, students are asked to make a bioreactor containing an immobilised enzyme and use it to produce lactose reduced milk. They then assess the effect that temperature has on the enzyme driven reaction within the bioreactor. 

Published by the Wellcome Trust, the 'Big Picture' explores issues around biology and medicine. How do we stop new diseases emerging or re-emerging infections getting out of hand?

How does this happen in a world of...

Published by the Wellcome Trust, the 'Big Picture' explores issues around biology and medicine. Why does Darwinian evolution raise controversy when, say, quantum mechanics scarcely registers on the public consciousness?

From Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), this practical activity was developed for Scottish Highers specifications, but the protocol can equally well be used for other specifications. 

Students prepare and stain roots, and then examine them to establish the frequency of mycorrhizae. 

The...

Published by the Wellcome Trust, the 'Big Picture' explores issues around biology and medicine.

Fat is a word that carries a lot of weight, conjuring up topics as diverse as obesity, hibernating animals, and what we eat and how we cook it. This issue of the Big Picture looks at the fats and lipids to find...

What is the perfect curve of a ball’s trajectory, what must the ideal turf be like, and...

Produced by Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), in this investigation, students look at the effectiveness of enzymes used in the commercial production of fruit juices.

Fruit juice companies use enzymes to break down the cells walls within the fruits and release the liquids and the sugars which make up...

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...