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...

From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this resource explains the leading role played by UK scientists and engineers at universities, observatories and research council establishments in the search for gravitational waves. Gravitational wave detectors are expected to open up a new window on the...

From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this brochure describes the leading role played by UK scientists and engineers at universities, observatories and research council establishments in the search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). The UK's dark matter experiment, at Boulby Mine...

From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this leaflet describes our Sun and its impact on Earth. It looks at the properties of the Sun and how current space missions and ground-based experiments are providing new understanding of our nearest star. STFC is a part of the Research Councils UK (RCUK)...

Students will begin by comparing the range of temperatures on the Earth, Mars and the Moon, using the student worksheet ‘Temperature: from one extreme to another!’ They will have to plot the temperature over a ten-day period from 4 September to 13 September, as measured by three different craft that landed on the...

A statistical graphic from the Gatsby Foundation which demonstrates the chronic shortage of physics teachers across the UK and which looks at the various campaigns to address this shortfall over the past few years.

These technical briefs focus on ways to transport goods and people in a relatively low cost way. This is important to people in the...

From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this resource describes why we explore the solar system and space missions carried out in recent years. These include: * Rosetta mission to a comet * Mars Express * Venus Express * SMART-1 mission to the Moon * Cassini Huygens surveying * Saturn and Mars...

Rockets are used to launch satellites, probes and even astronauts into space. A rocket launch is extremely impressive. Thousands of kilograms are burned in just a few minutes in order to provide the force that the rocket needs in order to overcome the gravity of the Earth. Rockets provide an exciting context to...

From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this wall chart describes the space mission to Venus, the UK experiments aboard, and the extreme conditions on the surface of Venus. In addition to mission details, the resource describes properties of Venus and the conditions found on the surface of the...

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 spacecraft that have orbited around Mars and landed on its surface have shown us (via images and data) that there is no liquid water on the surface of Mars. However, these satellite images have also revealed to us features that appear to have been created or carved out by flowing water. In fact, scientists feel...

Scientists must design and evaluate many ways of extracting water from the lunar permafrost before planning lunar colonies and manned missions using the moon as a base.

In this activity students will construct a solar water collector. Using the collector, students will collect and calculate the amount of...

From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this resource describes the new and exciting subject that brings together many different branches of science. Astrobiology is the study of how life formed and developed on the Earth, the conditions that made this possible and whether these conditions can...

In this activity students take on the role of Earth observation scientists submitting a request for an image they would like for their research. This gives them the opportunity to consider the possibilities of pictures taken from orbit (and the limitations) and to write scientifically for a specific audience. It...