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...

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...

Work done in this Nuffield 13 - 16 module followed from the S unit called ‘Keys and detection’. This S unit provided enough material for eight double periods during a single-certificate science course. The teachers’ guide included two worksheets to supplement 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...

Volcanoes can be found on many planets and satellites in the Solar System, although not all volcanoes are the same as those found on Earth. It is the conditions on the planet and its composition that determine the shape of the volcanoes and the material that is erupted.

Students will use topography data to...

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...

Earth Observation (EO) scientists collect information about the Earth – the land, the sea and the atmosphere – using sensors carried on satellites, aircraft, ships, buoys floating on the ocean and thousands of weather stations around the world. There is now a great deal of data available and scientists are finding...

Physics and the Earth Sciences for Middle Schools is one of the titles in the series of ASE Lab Books that were published in the early 1970s for the Association for Science Education by John Murray. Each title covered one or two topics and brought together the best of...

This National Strategies study guide from the Department of Education is one of a suite designed to support the development of aspects of subject knowledge. It has been designed to link with both the Progression Maps, the ...

This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). In recent years, the development of new magnetic materials has shown extraordinary advances. The remarkable strength of the latest generation...

The movement of tectonic plates against each other can cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and most active volcanoes on the Earth are located along the edge of these plates. Volcanoes can also occur far away from plate boundaries, although this is less common.

These volcanoes are maintained by hotspots...

There is a minimum size of meteorite that will make it through the atmosphere of a planet (or the Moon) and impact on the surface. If the meteorite is any smaller than this, it will burn up on its journey through the atmosphere and be seen as a meteor or shooting star (obviously if the meteorite is bigger it will...

Learners discover the BIFoR FACE (Birmingham Institute for forest research free air carbon enrichment) experiment and the infrastructure associated with it. They are introduced to the arrays, met masts and flux tower and encouraged to think about the research questions that this experiment can answer. Learners are...