Travelling Salesperson
The aim of a travelling salesperson problem is to visit every vertex of the network and return to the starting vertex using the route that has the minimum total weight. The problem requires students to find the best route for a courier to take to deliver parcels to a number of towns and return back to base. Travelling salesperson…
Route Inspection
The aim of the route inspection problem is to find a route that is as short as possible yet goes down every road once and returns to the starting point. The task informs students that there has been a heavy snowfall overnight and that the students are required to clear the roads in the town centre as quickly as possible, then return…
Planarity
Many topological graphs have edges that cross. The aim is to re-draw the graph in such a way that none of the edges cross. The task informs students they are required to design a printed circuit board and since the wires are not insulated they must not cross. Planarity: presentation - an introduction to the problem outlining the…
Minimum Spanning Tree
The aim of a minimum spanning tree is to connect every vertex of the network using the edges having the least possible total weight. The task requires students to analyse information about a town centre and suggest which roads should be pedestrianized. Minimum spanning tree: presentation - an introduction to the problem outlining…
Matchings
A matching is a set of edges on a bipartite graph in which no two edges share a common vertex. A bipartite graph consists of two sets of vertices X and Y. The edges only join vertices in X to vertices in Y. A matching in a bipartite graph is the pairing of some or all of the vertices in X with some or all of the vertices in Y. If…
Linear Programming
Linear Programming involves creating a function that represents a real life problem. The aim is to optimise this function given certain constraints. Simple examples of linear programming will have few variables and constraints, however, real life situations will have many more variables and constraints that will need to be considered. Problems…
Flows
The network flow problem involves finding the optimum route through a flow network; a directed graph where each arc has a capacity and each arc receives a flow. Typical examples include: evacuation plans and delivery services. The problem involves students analysing the plan of a school canteen and deciding whether, given relevant…
Dijkstra's Algorithm
Dijkstra's algorithm finds the shortest path for a given problem. Dijkstra's algorithm can be used to find the shortest route between two cities. This algorithm is so powerful that it not only finds the shortest path from a chosen source to a given destination, it also finds all of the shortest paths from the source to…
Critical Path Analysis
Critical path analysis is a project management technique and is used to lay out all of the activities which are needed to complete a task. Starting some activities will depend on completing others first, while independent activities can be started any time. Critical path analysis helps to predict the project completion time. The…
Bin Packing
The purpose of bin packing is to pack a collection of objects into containers called bins. The bins are all the same size and the objects to be packed are different sizes. The aim is to pack the objects into the bins using the fewest possible bins. In this example students are asked to save computer files onto a CD. Bin packing:…
Adaptations to Arid Climates (Age 11-14)
In this ARKive resource, students learn about how different animals and plants are adapted to surviving in arid habitats. Working in groups, students design and carry out an experiment aimed at testing the effectiveness of different adaptations in reducing water loss. Using a worksheet as guidance, students also compare species…
Invasive Species (Age 11-14)
This resource from Arkive allows students to investigate the impacts that invasive species have on the environment, the effects that they have on native species and habitats, and the characteristics that make certain species good invaders. The activity looks at the different ways in which invasive species can potentially be controlled…
Handling Data: African Animal Maths (Age 7-11)
This resource from ARKive, aimed at Key Stage Two, focuses on handling data, using some of the species that inhabit the African savannah as a context. It involves completing a table on the height and weight of animals and converting heights from metres into centimetres. In a second activity children are asked to interpret the…
Model Cells
The cell is the smallest unit of life and for many millennia single celled organisms were the only form of life on Earth. It’s this type of life that astrobiologists are looking for elsewhere in the solar system. In this activity, wallpaper paste is used to build model cells Curriculum areas covered: • Cell biology • Cell…
Martian Death Rays
Could there be life on Mars? Perhaps so, although the high intensity of UV light means that it is unlikely to be found on the surface. The experiment demonstrates how bacteria grown on agar plates can be killed off by UV exposure. Curriculum areas covered: • Microbiology • Cell biology • Aseptic technique The…
What's Your Limit?
Conditions on other planets are unlikely to be within the same ranges as that experienced by Earth. However, a degree of variance from ‘ideal’ ranges may be tolerable for a small number of organisms known as extremophiles. This investigation looks at the effects of subjecting a living organism (yeast) to some extreme…
Ice Cores
In this practical activity students analyse ice cores extracted from the icy worlds of Enceladus or Europa. This resource provides information about Enceladus and worksheets for both qualitative and quantitative analyses. In the video, Steve Althorpe explains how ice cores containing minerals can be made and then analysed by the…
Rates of Reaction and Activation Empathy
High levels of ultraviolet radiation out in space drive reactions that can turn white beads into their coloured form. Students investigate how temperature affects the rate at which the beads turn back to white. At Key Stage Five, students can use the results sheet template to find the activation enthalpy. In the video, Judith…
Molecules of Life
This resource includes a suite of games designed to promote thinking, learning and understanding as well as being enjoyable and engaging. They are all based around molecules that play key roles in life on Earth. In the MolyMod video, Steve Althorpe explains how, in the Building Molecules game, students can use Molymod to link…
Life in the Freezer
If there is life elsewhere in our solar system it’s likely to live in a pretty cold environment. In this resource, students investigate the effect of antifreeze on the freezing point of water and how it can allow fragile cells to survive extreme cold. In the video, Judith Green explains how students can plan an experiment…
Is There Life In There?
All life forms on Earth are based on organic biochemistry. This activity requires students to analyse an unknown soil sample (just recovered from a space mission to another planet!) and look for signs of possible indicators for life. Curriculum areas covered: • Cell biology • Food tests, including starch, sugar, protein…
Linear Functions
This resource, from Susan Wall, contains a number of advanced level activities designed to practise and strengthen understanding of linear functions. Although students have worked with linear functions at GCSE connections between properties, equations and diagrams are not always secure. At advanced level students need to move from…
Crest Challenges
This Challenge Pack from the British Science Association, aims to give students aged 11-16 and their teachers and educators support to create a science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM) project that they can enter into the National Science + Engineering Competition. Through creating a project, young people can explore…
Renewable Energy: a Resource for Key Stages 3 and 4
This book by John Stringer discusses five main categories of renewable energy - wind, water, solar, geothermal and biofuels. It considers the technology, economics, and environmental impact of renewable energy projects in order to enable students to form their own views about renewable energy. The resource contains a variety of…
Power Station Project
The Power Station Project is a simulated case study from the Science in Society series dealing with the various decisions that have to be made when a new power station is being planned. It was designed as an integral part of the Energy section of the Science in Society course. It is assumed that an Electricity Generating Board is…
Unit 20: SOS - Save Our Sites
In this Science of the Earth unit from the Earth Science Teachers' Association, students are introduced to earth science conservation using a problem-solving and case study approach. Through these activities they develop understanding of the importance to earth scientists of geological exposures and that such exposures can be…
Unit 19: The Day the Earth Erupted - Volcanoes
In this Science of the Earth unit from the Earth Science Teachers' Association, students look at two contrasting volcanic eruptions and the plate tectonic explanation for the differences. Students develop an understanding of how vocanoes 'work' and the different types of eruption and why they are different. They also…
Tunnelworks: Key Stage Five Chemistry
Tunnelworks is a series of teaching and learning resources linking mathematics and science to the Thames Tideway Tunnel project, a major new sewer that will help protect the River Thames from increasing pollution. Background to the project is given in the introductory video. The AS Level lesson gives students practice in calculating…
Tunnelworks: Key Stage Four Science
Tunnelworks is a series of teaching and learning resources linking mathematics and science to the Thames Tideway Tunnel project, a major new sewer that will help protect the River Thames from increasing pollution. Background to the project is given in the introductory video. Lesson one challenges students to think about how ultrasound…
Tunnelworks: Key Stage Three Science
Tunnelworks is a series of teaching and learning resources linking mathematics and science to the Thames Tideway Tunnel project, a major new sewer that will help protect the River Thames from increasing pollution. Background to the project is given in the introductory video. Lesson one explores the relationship between force,…
Tunnelworks: Key Stage Five Mathematics
Tunnelworks is a series of teaching and learning resources linking mathematics and science to the Thames Tideway Tunnel project, a major new sewer that will help protect the River Thames from increasing pollution. Background to the project is given in the introductory video. AS Maths: In this lesson students generate and transform…
Tunnelworks: Key Stage Four Mathematics
Tunnelworks is a series of teaching and learning resources linking mathematics and science to the Thames Tideway Tunnel project, a major new sewer that will help protect the River Thames from increasing pollution. Background to the project is given in the introductory video. Lesson one explores mean, mode and median using fictitious…
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