This APU report for teachers focuses on the performance of students aged 15 in a range of test questions concerning electricity. It presents the findings in a sequence in which it suggests that different activities are generally encountered by students. An...

In this activity from Science upd8 students think about carbon footprints and which goods and services cause the biggest carbon dioxide emissions. What choices can be made to minimise emissions?

This topical activity helps the student to make informed choices regarding the carbon dioxide emissions of a...

Air pollutants arise from natural processes and human activities. In this SATIS Revisited resource, students investigate air pollution, how it is monitored and some effects on human health. Air pollutants arise from a wide variety of sources, although they are mainly a result of the combustion process. It is easy...

This resource uses the context of long distance runner Eliud Kipchoge trying to be the first person to run a marathon under 2 hours, to look at air resistance.  The video below is a good introduction to the challenge facing Eliud. 

The presentation, which contains teacher notes, looks at the forces involved...

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...

Produced by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service, these materials introduce students to circuit symbols. They develop their knowledge and understanding of circuit symbols and components through a range of short, interactive learning activities. These are particularly useful to reinforce, or consolidate,...

The EU has recently imposed limits on the power ratings of vacuum cleaners, and proposes further limits on appliances such as hairdryers. In this activity students consider a further (fictional) future restriction, on home electricity use. Students calculate the energy transferred in kilowatt-hours by the...

This resource from the European Space Agency climate change resource pack provides background information on the role of Arctic sea ice upon the Earth’s climate system. All activities are set in the context of the Northwest Passage. Changes in the amount of sea ice can disrupt normal ocean circulation, leading to...

Area Builder gives students the opportunity to build any shape and explore the relationship between the area of a shape and the length of its perimeter. The “Game Screen” contains two kinds of challenges: Build a shape and Find the area. There are different levels of increasing difficulty. The teacher notes give...

Work done in this Nuffield 13 - 16 module followed from the unit called ‘Particles’ and was intended to lead to an understanding of the ways in which some properties of materials can be explained in terms of the type and arrangement of their atomic and molecular...

This longer-duration activity involves prototyping a low-power lighting system. It could be used in an off-timetable workshop or across a series of lessons.

Students are challenged to work through the whole design process, and to place a micro-controller (in this case a BBC micro:bit) at the centre of the...

This book was written by the Nuffield Junior Science project to show teachers how seasonal materials offer children many opportunities to carry out simple investigations. The aim was to help children to build up, over the years, a picture of the continuity and wholeness...

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...