The Earth spins on its axis, completing a full revolution every day. By why does it do this? One of the most common misconceptions in physics is the belief that constant motion requires a constant force. So many people believe there must be some force in the Earth (e.g. gravity, centrifugal force) that keeps it...

The mission of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is to gather and apply knowledge, improve understanding and predict the behaviour of the natural environment and its resources. It was established in 1965.

NERC funds and manages research and training in earth system science, advancing knowledge...

This Catalyst article looks at volcanic activity that generates earth tremors. It talks about seismologists that measure these tremors in an attempt to predict future eruptions.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2016, Volume 27, Issue 2.

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Work done in this Nuffield 13 - 16 module followed from the S unit called ‘Earth, air and water’. This X unit provided enough material for eight double periods. It could be selected to complete either a Science or a Further Science course. The teachers’ guide included...

These diagnostic questions and response activities (contained in the zip file) support students in being able to:

• Describe how the seasons change through a year.
• Describe the movement of the Earth through a year.
• Describe evidence that shows the Earth moves in a circular orbit...

The second edition of Nuffield Co-ordinated Sciences gave a higher profile to the study of earth and space topics. These aspects of science dealt with three of the cross-curricular themes in the 1992 National Curriculum: weather, geology and space. These themes were related to two strands of the National Curriculum...

A collection of resources, from Nuffield Science, covering topics in space. 

In this set of two activities, pupils will develop their understanding of seasons and the basic mechanism behind the different seasons on Earth. Pupils will learn that trees look different at different times of the year due to seasons, that seasonal changes can be seen from space and how to analyse images and...

This Pupil Research Brief (PRB), designed by a team at the Centre for Science Education, supports the teaching and learning of earth science at GCSE and Scottish Standard Grade levels. Each brief was targeted at a topic within the curriculum at the time. The study guide provides a structure to guide the students...

In this podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Sue Nelson hears about the birth of an ocean in the Afar depression in the Horn of Africa. The continental crust is being ripped apart at a phenomenal rate – one metre every year over the last five years. In...

The loose fragments of material on the Moon’s surface are called regolith. This regolith, a product of bombardment by meteorites, is the debris thrown out of the impact craters. By contrast, regolith on Earth (called ‘soil’ as it contains organic material) is a product of weathering. ‘Weathering’ describes all the...