This resource presents four Fermi problems, or back-of-the-envelope calculations, based on a video about an underwater volcano disaster.  Students are expected to develop experience of using quantitative reasoning techniques and gain an...

This resource from Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is a practical, classroom activity that allows the students to make a balloon model of a disease-causing bacterium. This illustrates its basic shape and structure. Students can choose from three bacteria species...

This resource is based on two aspects of the design of bar codes used for products on sale in shops. The first aspect is that of a check digit and how it works; the second aspect is that of the actual design for the strips of numbers that make up bar codes. This...

This resource looks at the concept of a centre of mass, for a rotating body, or barycentre, using the principals of moments.  An demonstration activity is suggested, using tennis balls secured together will string.  A video linked to this activity is performed on the International Space Station, by ESA Astronaut,...

Three RISP activities designed to introduce or consolidate basic algebraic skills.

Brackets Out, Brackets In: students are asked to insert integers into a statement containing brackets in order to...

Mathcentre provide this refresher resource for basic differentiation, which has been designed to enable students to prepare for their university mathematics programme. There is a comprehensive review including differentiation of a general power multiplied by a constant, simple fractions and general brackets.

Produced by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) as part of their 'At Work With Science' series, this resource looks at a hypothetical, but realistic, project aimed at producing a new way of treating bacterial infections. In this activity, students first consider what features are important...

Produced by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service, this resource introduces students to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics of workplace accidents in the manufacturing sector. The purpose is to draw attention to the scale of the problem in the students’ own industrial sector and to raise awareness...

From Practical Action and the Royal Academy of Engineering, this short starter activity helps students to think about their own values and those of their peers in relation to the sustainability of engineering. The activity encourages an awareness of the impact of engineering on the environment and sustainability....

This Nuffield Working with Science unit aimed to give students the experience of designing experiments, carrying them out, and evaluating the results. The unit explores the paranormal which is a field where there are many strongly held beliefs, often unsupported by...

In this lesson, students apply their knowledge of chemical kinetics, spectroscopy, and structure and bonding, to an exciting new context – the chemistry of interstellar space. Having watched an engaging animation, students work in groups to find out about the nature of...

Learning ...

The purpose of bin packing is to pack a collection of objects into containers called bins. The bins are all the same size and the objects to be packed are different sizes. The aim is to pack the objects into the bins using the fewest possible bins. In this example students are asked to save computer files onto a CD...

In this resource students are asked to play the role of a local theatre manager, tasked with finding the best way to organise the audience to minimise the amount of space they take up. To solve the problem students must apply a series of first fit algorithms.

The resource includes a teacher presentation,...

Students always need practice in number system conversion. This resource gives them instant feedback and allows them to progress from conversion to binary addition. This would make an ideal homework activity. the file is a macro enabled worksheet and can be downloaded from the zip file.