This diagnostic question is part of a series adapted for primary aged pupils from the Best Evidence Science Teaching project for ages 11 to 14.

It helps students to understand that...

In this activity pupils will undertake a controlled experiment to investigate how gases in the atmosphere affect the heat in an enclosed environment, by tracking the change in temperature of a glass jar containing carbon dioxide against a control jar. They will learn about the greenhouse effect and the role of...

This resource from the European Space Agency climate change resource pack provides information gathered from the electromagnetic spectrum which is used to monitor and measure changes in the Earth’s climate system. Resources focus upon how satellite instruments orbiting the Earth detect data from the visible light,...

These resources from NASA look at why telescopes are put into space. Students build simple spectroscopes and telescopes to learn the answer to this question. This educator guide is divided into units of study that include science demonstrations, lesson plans and student sheets so that students may learn about Earth...

In this activity, produced by Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme, students are presented with a range of graphical information.

Students are presented with a graph about atmospheric oxygen levels at different altitudes. They are asked questions about the graph and also pose questions to their fellow...

By constructing a model of the constellations in the zodiac, students can learn about the relative motion of the Sun and the Earth. Students can find their own star sign and discover how the view from the Earth will change as the Earth orbits the Sun. The model allows them to see how the night sky changes over a...

On 14 January 2005, the European probe Huygens entered the atmosphere of Titan - one of Saturn's moons. Based on this major event in space exploration, ESA offers a cartoon-style teaching aid with fact sheets for teachers to use in the classroom. The factsheets are available for use with different aged students -...

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, begins with a video that names and describes some the different layers of the atmosphere, with the aim of explaining where the ...

 These materials look at three possible projects that relate to sustainable travel.

* Communications project - students gather information and explain about ‘green’ transport policies, reducing and offsetting carbon footprints.

* Practical project - students investigate how to compare carbon dioxide...

This resource uses the context of tornadoes in the solar atmosphere to investigate circular motion and energy changes. A hole is drilled in the bottom of a washing up bowl and orange pith can be used to track the motion of the water when draining through the bottom and creating a vortex. The Key Stage Three...

In this activity developed by the Institute of Physics, students investigate how temperature changes with distance from a heat source and relate this to planetary temperatures. After completing this activity, students should be able to:

*Understand that the temperature of a planet depends on its distance...

In this activity developed by the Institute of Physics, students use iron and sand to model the composition of the Earth and estimate what fraction of the Earth is occupied by its iron core. After completing this activity, students should be able to: *Measure mass and volume. *Calculate density from mass and volume...

This activity shows how Earth observation can be used to study human geography by comparing the satellite images of Las Vegas over the last few decades. Linking to measurement of irregular areas and addition and multiplication of fractions, it asks children to measure the area of Las Vegas at three separate times...

This Science upd8 activity draws on Titan which is the biggest of Saturn's moons.

There are two student activities; one involves labelling a diagram to tell students on Earth about the nature of Titan.

The other asks students to take the role of Titanian space explorers and use data to compare the...

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, challenges students to explain the phases of the Moon by linking the movement of the Moon around the Earth with our perspective from Earth of light and shadow on the Moon.

The two files are identical, apart from the curriculum links stated in the teachers...