A Catalyst article describing how a car's catalytic converter works. A catalytic converter is a part of a vehicle’s exhaust system. It removes harmful substances from the exhaust gases. The article describes what a catalytic converter consists of, the reactions taking place in a car engine and the reactions...

Published in June 2002. Dyslexia affects a significant proportion of the UK population and can be a barrier to learning in science for those afflicted. There are a number of techniques teachers can employ to alleviate the problems dyslexic students face with both practical and written work in science. These have...

This Catalyst article looks at the celebrations surrounding the life and work of Charles Darwin. Darwin was born 200 years ago and the article looks at some of the activities surrounding the bicentenary and examines his work.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2009, Volume 19, Issue 4.

A Catalyst article looking at a day in the life of Charles Darwin at his home in Kent. Much of Charles Darwin’s life after his return from the Beagle voyage was spent at Down House in Kent. He moved here in September 1842 and the article describes the important work such as Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural...

A Catalyst article about chemical reactions that occur in a blast furnace during the steelmaking process. This short article features a diagram of a blast furnace showing the active ingredients used to produce iron from ore.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2006, Volume 16, Issue 3.

This Catalyst article explains how zeolites, sponge-like materials developed from naturally occurring minerals, are used as chemical sieves and as catalysts. Zeolites have incredibly widespread applications. They are used in consumer products such as washing powder and cat litter while many of the petrochemicals...

The award of a Royal Society Partnership Grant allowed Chichester College to purchase a powerful telescope for use in teaching and by their STEM Club. The project aimed to give learners the opportunity to select and use equipment whilst working with external partners and organisations, including STEM Ambassadors,...

The aim of this survey was to evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken by local authorities in relation to children and young people who are missing from education or in danger of becoming so. It considers whether legislation and guidance support the local authorities effectively in protecting and educating them...

Published in June 2002, this article, by W. and J. Wellington, explores some of the problems that children with communication difficulties face in learning science, its vocabulary, and its own particular language. Practical ideas and strategies are suggested for helping to overcome these barriers in mainstream...

This report focuses on progression from post-16 education in schools and colleges into STEM first degree programmes and proposes a number of recommendations for improving levels of communication among the main stakeholders.

SCORE commissioned the Centre for Education and Industry, which is based at the...

A Catalyst article about the sudden onset of an ice age and whether it is a scientific likelihood. Looking at evaporation, greenhouse gases and thermohaline circulation in the world's ocean currents the article explores likely scenarios for a major drop in temperature.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE...

This activity sheet is based on the Inventive Podcast.  It introduces two engineers involved in the development of hydrogen as a fuel, and links their work to chemistry and physics topic. The activity sheet also supports Careers Benchmark 4: Careers in the curriculum by introducing a career and role model. There...

This report explores the differences in uptake of 'gendered' subjects at A level in schools between girls and boys. In a previous report, It's Different for Girls (2012), the Institute of Physics looked at progression into A Level physics and the patterns...

A Catalyst article about climate control, and specifically the process known as cloud seeding. Cloud seeding has met with initially encouraging results. The method entails adding silver iodide to the air in clouds to encourage ice crystals to form, so that they grow rapidly and produce more snow or rainfall than...

Published in 2009 by LSIS, this report describes an action research project undertaken by Longley Park Sixth Form College. The research undertook a comparison of the different GCSE science specifications and an analysis of the January results for an AS chemistry unit to investigate the impact of GCSE qualifications...