From a more mathematical perspective this time, this document covers the derivation of algorithm complexity. It could be used in the classroom as extension reading  or as a homework. 

Abstraction is the representation of essential features without including unnecessary details.  It is used to reduce the complexity of systems for users, hiding how things actually work, applying algorithms to different contexts and producing suitable user interfaces.  The first video explains the concept at a...

This booklet contains a number of very briefly described algorithms, which students are then expected to analyse, develop an algorithm for and then implement in a language of their choice. Each section contains success descriptors at three different levels which could be adapted to meet the requirements of an...

Alice and Bob in Wonderland are animations produced by the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. They are based around the questions that Alice has about the physical world and how these can lead to "powerful ideas" in physics, such as energy-mass equivalence and relativity. Topics include time travel, the...

This puzzle contains five pieces of information about people shaking hands at a party. The task is to establish the number of people at the party and determine who shook whose hand.

Alien Invasion is a set of four interactive lessons about a full-scale alien attack that coincides with a class visit to Manford City. To set the scene and support the lessons, live television news bulletins, radio broadcasts and telephone messages help to develop the story line. The invasion leads to a series of...

Produced by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, this booklet gives instructions on a practical demonstration of the Doppler effect. The practical uses a portable speaker an audio software to calculate the change in frequency. Included is an online video that shows the demonstration and places it in the context of...

This podcast from the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Planet Earth Online collection looks at invasive species of plants and animals. Many of them are well-known. Grey squirrels, harlequin ladybirds, buddleia, Japanese knotweed - the list goes on. Some of these aliens, or invasive species to give them...

Alison Foster has combined her education in Chemistry with her love of plants to engage in some exciting projects at the University of Oxford Botanic Gardens. This Catalyst article gives a profile of her career choices, and introduces a public engagement activity called Chemistry in the Garden.

Alison began...

These activities, from Eurostemcell, introduce students to the science of stem cells and explore four basic themes in stem cell biology: 1. What is a stem cell? – what stem cells can do; types of stem cell 2. Where do embryonic stem cells come from? – the blastocyst; cell culture; IVF 3. Why bother with stem cells...

This activity introduces pupils to algorithms and gives them the opportunity to create and debug simple programmes using bee-bots. Throughout the three activities pupils will be taught that algorithms are clear step-by-step instructions before programming a bee-bot to follow their own inventive algorithms to reach...

This physics extension module from the Salters' Science course deals with binary digital electronic devices, taking a systems approach. Ideas of input, output and control are considered and the concept of feedback. The use of logic gates to control switches and latches...