In this activity developed by the Institute of Physics, students use simple diffraction gratings to observe the spectra from different sources, and deduce how scientists can work out which chemicals are present in an exoplanet’s atmosphere. When an exoplanet passes in front of its star, some of the starlight is...

A lesson from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)'s Seeing Science. Students investigate sulphur dioxide, its sources and its impact on the environment and on life. In the main activity, students create a animated presentation to tell the story of sulphur dioxide. Images and graphics for each act...

Basketball Earth
This resource uses a basketball as the Earth to set up a scale model to the distance to the Moon, satellites and distances such as the thickness of the...

Produced by the Centre for Science Education, this Science Assessment Task for More Able Students, comprises of two investigations with a space-related theme. Students investigate what needs to be considered if humans are to colonise our solar system.

They look at:

* forces and the force of gravity...

Volcanoes can be found on many planets and satellites in the Solar System, although not all volcanoes are the same as those found on Earth. It is the conditions on the planet and its composition that determine the shape of the volcanoes and the material that is erupted.

Students will use topography data to...

The loose fragments of material on the Moon’s surface are called regolith. This regolith, a product of bombardment by meteorites, is the debris thrown out of the impact craters. By contrast, regolith on Earth (called ‘soil’ as it contains organic material) is a product of weathering. ‘Weathering’ describes all the...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). In recent years, the development of new magnetic materials has shown extraordinary advances. The remarkable strength of the latest generation...

The movement of tectonic plates against each other can cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and most active volcanoes on the Earth are located along the edge of these plates. Volcanoes can also occur far away from plate boundaries, although this is less common.

These volcanoes are maintained by hotspots...

There is a minimum size of meteorite that will make it through the atmosphere of a planet (or the Moon) and impact on the surface. If the meteorite is any smaller than this, it will burn up on its journey through the atmosphere and be seen as a meteor or shooting star (obviously if the meteorite is bigger it will...

Learners discover the BIFoR FACE (Birmingham Institute for forest research free air carbon enrichment) experiment and the infrastructure associated with it. They are introduced to the arrays, met masts and flux tower and encouraged to think about the research questions that this experiment can answer. Learners are...

The oceans are become more acidic. This is due to an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere through the ...

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,...

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...

 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...