A Year Ten module from the Salters’ double award science course. The first section of the module introduces the formation, composition and structure of the atmosphere. The Sun is our main source of energy. Students consider why sunlight is more intense near the equator...

In this activity developed by the Institute of Physics, students use simple diffraction gratings to observe the spectra from different sources, and deduce how scientists can work out which chemicals are present in an exoplanet’s atmosphere. When an exoplanet passes in front of its star, some of the starlight is...

The jet streams are bands of fast winds high in the atmosphere which are driven by pressure differences. Stormy weather follows the jet stream. In this film, Tim Woollings from the University of Oxford shows how, as the lower atmosphere gets warmer, we need to understand how the patterns of pressure and the jet...

This series of seven videos gradually build on the concepts that lead to an understanding of air pressure and contain clips of some interesting demonstrations to show its effects which could be replicated in a classroom.The demonstrations...

This Science upd8 resource is set in the context of astronomy. Astronomers have found the most Earth-like planet outside our Solar System. Through analysing data students justify whether or not they believe the 'new' planet to be Earth-like. 

This series of activities from NASA take a mathematical approach to looking at the Earth and its atmosphere. They are intended as supplementary problems for students looking for additional challenges in mathematics and physical science from age 11 to 19 years.

The problems were created to be authentic...

Basketball Earth
This resource uses a basketball as the Earth to set up a scale model to the distance to the Moon, satellites and distances such as the thickness of the...

Produced by the Centre for Science Education, this Science Assessment Task for More Able Students, comprises of two investigations with a space-related theme. Students investigate what needs to be considered if humans are to colonise our solar system.

They look at:

* forces and the force of gravity...

This Catalyst article describes how a crewed trip to Mars and back would be very demanding, both technologically and for the people involved.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2011, Volume 22, Issue 2.

Catalyst is a...

British ESA astronaut Tim Peake invites UK children to exercise alongside him as he trains two hours a day on the highest and fastest gym in the Universe – travelling at 27,600 km per hour and circling the world every 90 minutes. The triathlon styled challenge encourages schools to create their own ‘spaceathlons...

In this activity, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, students are introduced to the rotating Earth and the concept of longitude. They will carry out simple arithmetic that relates the 24 hour clock with the Earth’s rotation. The questions in the activity require an understanding of angle: one hour being equal to...