This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). Remote controls, mobile phones, televisions and radios are such commonplace devices that it is easy to take for granted how they work. What...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). Radiation is all around us and is part of our everyday life. Much of the radiation that bombards us comes from natural sources, though we are...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). ‘Sustainability’ is about using resources in a way that does not deplete them. An increased emphasis on renewable energy is part of the move to greater sustainability, but so is the idea...

The Revised Nuffield Physics Students Guides were not textbooks. They included for each unit:
*Summaries - very short accounts giving the most important ideas of each part of the course.
*Readings - short passages which depend on the ideas developed in the...

Published by the Nuffield Foundation the Revised Nuffield Physics Students Guides were not textbooks.
They included for each unit:
*Summaries - very short accounts giving the most important ideas of each part of the course.
*Readings - short passages...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). Studying rockets captures the imagination of many students, as well as providing real-life applications of Newton’s laws of motion.

The booklet looks at the differences between...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). Silicon-based sensors detect photons that we ourselves cannot, and so provide a real extension to our senses. The booklet looks at these...

A year 11 module from the Salters’ Key Stage Four double award science course. This module deals with radiation and radioactivity, introduced through their uses in medicine, both for diagnosis and treatment. Students simulate non-intrusive tests made by doctors in...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP) and produced in partnership with the British Geological Survey. Earthquakes release huge amounts of stored energy, causing movements of the...

Learn about the properties of solids and liquids and dissolving in this colourful comic aimed at students in Key Stage Two. Written to promote enquiry skills in a context, it focuses on planning investigative work and evaluating evidence before carrying out an...

This multimedia package was developed by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme to support and extend the teaching of sensors to students aged 14-19. The development and use of sensors is a rapidly growing area. Students should already have some familiarity with sensors through their use in a classroom context in...

Produced by Solar Spark, this is a simple practical activity that can be used to show how a solar photovoltaic cell works. During a 45-60 minute session, students make solar cells out of cheap and readily accessible materials. The mechanism behind the solar cell is similar to that used in a dye-sensitised solar...

Produced by Solar Spark, this activity looks at the relationship between light and absorption in solar cells. Using a photovoltaic cell and different colour acetate sheets, it demonstrates the ability of solar cells to absorb at different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum and shows how the more it can...

From NASA, Solar Energy for Space Exploration is a problem-based learning activity. The project requires students to propose and defend a design to provide power to a lunar or Martian research base for six astronauts. To prepare for the final project, students investigate the variables that affect the operation of...