This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). Much of the energy consumption in the modern world relies on the use of oil, coal or natural gas, and these fossil fuels are non-renewable. Some people believe that biofuels, made from...

These materials look at three possible projects that relate to household cleaning products:

* Communications project - students gather information about cleaning products, compare them and explain how they are suitable for different cleaning problems.

* Practical project - students investigate how...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). Building materials and construction methods provide an interesting context in which students can develop their understanding of basic ideas...

Produced by The Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC), in these activities, students investigate the cleaning power of washing agents and through a series of investigations that include:

* Which washing agent works best at low temperatures?
* Which washing agent produces the most foam?...

This resource is a full investigation with additional activities using a variety of multi-sensory approaches where students are experimenting to make the best protective sea wall.

These are activities on the theme of...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). Composites are made by physically combining two or more materials. Many composite materials are used to provide strength and rigidity while using thinner, lighter components. However, they...

In this Crest Award accredited project, students monitor levels of atmospheric sulfur dioxide and rainfall acidity in the school grounds.  Suggested investigations include:

•  Investigate various methods of measuring acidities between pH4 and pH7, to decide which method is most accurate.
• Compare...

In this project students will research ways of detecting low concentrations of lead and apply these to test samples from the environment. The objective is to investigate whether lead from petrol still persists at the roadside in order to determine whether there is a lurking legacy of lead.

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This project encourages students to make contact with a business that performs quality control analyses, such as a public analyst who tests samples for the Trading Standards Department.  Students will need to carry out both quantitative and qualitative analysis on tablets with a single active ingredient, such as...

In this project, students make their own aspirin or paracetamol and then test the purity of the pain-reliever and compare it to shop-bought.  This covers titrations, chromatography and other analytical techniques.

The aim of this project is to investigate the properties of alcohol/water mixtures, and how these properties can be used to measure alcohol content. The alcohol in drinks is ethanol, C₂H₅OH. However, the ethanol used in the laboratory has been methylated by adding 5% of methanol, CH_3...

The Fabric Fires activity for Key Stage Three students looks at how different fabrics catch fire and burn. Students are asked to first consider the commonest reasons for fires in the home. They then test and compare a fabric and a cotton wool ball, firstly when untreated and then having first soaked them in a fire...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). Plastics – or polymers as they are more correctly called – look set to be the material of the future. Think of any product and it is likely that it consists, at least in part, of a polymer...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). New applications for traditional fabrics are being found, but increasingly, fibres and fabrics are engineered for specific purposes. Much...

In this predict-observe-explain activity, students explore different ways of extinguishing a flame with some surprising results. The lesson is introduced with the video of engineer Yusuf Muhammad. Yusuf is developing a revolutionary new household fire-safety device, incorporating the techniques of professional...