Measurement Good Practice Guide: a Beginner's Guide to Uncertainty of Measurement
This publication from the National Physical Laboratory is an ideal resource for secondary teachers but could also be used by students at post-16 level. It can be used as a basis for best practice for taking measurements within the laboratory. The guide explains the basics of errors, uncertainties, spread, standard deviation, random…
Fact Sheets
These fact sheets, from the National Physical Laboratory, are ideal posters for the classroom. They include illustrations and images to accompany the text. The following curriculum areas are covered Acoustics: sound, frequency and ultrasound Einstein: relativity, mass energy relation and speed Electricity: current and voltage Ionising…
Leading Space: Raising standards in STEM and other subjects
This publication is a report from the Leading Space Education Programme (LSEP). This is a Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) funded project that has worked with 30 schools in England with the aim of enhancing science, technology, engineering and mathematics education in secondary schools and using space to: excite;…
Nuffield Physics Background Book: Astronomy
This Nuffield Physics Background Book on astronomy uses a narrative to guide the reader through the development of theory in astronomy, from early ideas and Greek astronomy, through to the work of Kepler and Newton. Many hand-drawn diagrams are used to illustrate the concepts and suggestions for student activities are given –…
Interim Report: the Teaching of Modern Physics
The Teaching of Modern Physics was written by the Modern Physical Sciences Committee of the Science Masters Association. It includes demonstration and class experiments, and suggested equipment for teachers for the following topics: - Evidence for the particulate nature of matter - Experimental development of electrostatics - Particulate…
LAMP Topic Brief 10: Flight
This topic brief was published as part of the ASE’s LAMP Project. The brief was developed for third year pupils following a Nuffield Secondary Science course. It was later trialled in a variety of secondary schools with students of average and below average ability in the 13 to 16 age range. Aims 1. To develop an understanding…
The Physics of Heat Capacity
Part of the Macmillan Monographs in the Physical Sciences series, The Physics of Heat Capacity includes chapters on the heat capacities of gases and solids, and ideas for experimental projects. Chapter 1, on the heat capacities of gases looks at the kinetic theory of gases, thermodynamics and equipartition of energy. The chapter…
Passive House
Heating accounts for over half of the energy used in homes in the UK. This Catalyst article looks at buildings designed to cut heating demand almost to zero. There are over 70,000 passive houses in Europe – just a few of them in the UK. To be described as ‘passive’, a house must meet strict criteria for energy…
Extremophiles - How to Find Life on Mars
This Catalyst article looks at life in extreme environments on Earth which can suggest how life might exist on Mars. One of the developments in recent years that really opened up scientists’ eyes to the possibility of life on Mars has been the realization of just how adaptable and versatile life on Earth is. The extremophiles…
Ice - Water - Steam
This Catalyst article describes an experiment in which, using a microwave oven, water can be boiled in a cup made of ice, allowing all three states of water to be seen at once. The article explains what equipment needed to carry out the experiment, instructions, and a detailed explanation of why it works.
Mount Etna - Europe's Biggest Volcano
This Catalyst article takes a look at Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily, the biggest and tallest active volcano in Europe and one of the most active in the world. The article explores the geology of the volcano, its history and the local habitat surrounding it including how the volcanic conditions create rich fertile soil.
A Century of Crystallography
This poster, from the Science and Technology Facilities Council, celebrates 100 years since two scientists in the UK pioneered a technique for crystallography. Crystallography uses x-rays to create a diffraction pattern to examine the atomic structure of crystals. The poster explains Bragg’s Law, which allows the calculation…
The Little Books of Gaia
Gaia is an ambitious mission to chart a three-dimensional map of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. The spacecraft will provide the positions and velocity measurements of around 1 billion stars – which is about one percent of the stars in our galaxy. The Little Books of Gaia are A4-page-size summaries that cover different aspects…
Colour Mixing
This video from the Royal Institution describes how colour mixing works. Colours of light cannot be mixed in physics but different cones in your eyes are sensitive to different colours. The brain interprets a mixture between the two as a colour somewhere between the two. In the case of magenta, your brain invents this colour…
Cloud Chamber
This video from the Royal Institution shows tracks within a cloud chamber. A supersaturated layer of alcohol vapour exists just above the floor of the chamber and the ionisation radiation causes vapour to condense along the path of the radiation. An Americium source is introduced into the chamber so that tracks from alpha radiation…
Thorium
In the build-up to the Christmas Lectures in 2012, the Royal Institution published a new video for every day of advent revealing the elements that really excite and inspire people. Physicist Suzie Sheehy demonstrates how element thorium could be used as a fuel in future nuclear reactors. Unlike uranium, thorium needs to be bombarded…
Nuffield Physics Activities for GCSE
This pack of Nuffield Physics activity sheets was designed to match the National Curriculum Science: Physics at Key stage Four from 1996. The ideas were drawn from materials produced by various Nuffield projects over the previous ten years. The pack includes student sheets for 97 different activities. Teacher guidance is provided…
Electric Currents
This book, from the Longman Physics series, looks at electric currents. The contents include: • the heating effects of current, with examples such as electric bar fires and hot plates • the history of electric lighting and types of filament lamps • the magnetic effects of current flow • the chemical…
Supersonic Flight
This book looks at supersonic flight. The shock boundary caused by the abrupt change in pressure is explained with the aid of a diagram. The development of supersonic aircraft is explored, with a look at the overall efficiency of supersonic flight compared to subsonic flight. The effect of kinetic heating from air molecules…
Radioactivity
This book on radioactivity covers detectors, the history of radioactivity, Rutherford and the nuclear model, half-life, nuclear decay, fission, and uses of radioisotopes. The text shows some cloud chamber photographs for alpha and beta tracks and how these tracks can be deflected in a magnetic field. The electroscope, spark counter…
Electromagnetism
This book on electromagnetism covers the electromagnet, meters, electric motor and dynamo, transformers, communication and the electrical system of a car. The text begins by looking at the historical experiments of Oersted and Faraday on current flow and electromagnetic induction. Diagrams for an electric bell, relay switch…
Origins and Explorations
These study notes were produced by the BP Educational Service in 1981 to provide students with information on the oil industry. After an illustrated description of the formation of fossil fuels and the build-up of oil in porous sedimentary rocks, the booklet goes on to explain how oil can accumulate in reservoirs under caprock. There…
Physics Principles At Work
This handbook was developed in collaboration with the BP Educational Service and the Association for Science Education. First published in 1980, the units in the book were based on work originally undertaken by physics teachers at various BP centres and demonstrate the applications of physics in industry. Each unit describes an…
Investigating With Science
This handbook is a revised version of Science Teaching for Rosla. In response to the raising of the school leaving age from 15 to 16 in 1972, Bath University and the British Petroleum Company collaborated with a group of experience Heads of Department from comprehensive schools to produce this bank of ideas for investigations which…
Science Teaching For Rosla
In response to the raising of the school leaving age from 15 to 16 in 1972, Bath University and the British Petroleum Company collaborated with a group of experienced Heads of Department from comprehensive schools to produce this bank of ideas for investigations which would be suitable for the students affected by this change. It…
Raising Standards in STEM and Other Subjects: Using Space-related Contexts and Applications
The Leading Space Education programme has been funded by the STFC since September 2008. A network of schools was established and supported by SSAT, to develop and embed high-quality, space-themed educational practice. All schools started from different prior experiences of engagement with space education and are from a wide range…
Eating Chocolate
This Catalyst article looks at how the structure and properties of chocolate change when it is melted and re-solidified. An experiment is described in which the differences between solid chocolate, and chocolate which has been melted and re-hardened can be found, along with a detailed explanation of the physics involved in this process.
Thermometry... a Hot Topic
In this Catalyst article, Mike Follows describes the surprising range of thermometers available to scientists today. Many physical properties of materials depend on temperature. Thermometers are vital for measuring body temperature. The body's biochemical reactions work best at 37°C and the body is in serious danger if…
Flying Dry
This Catalyst article explores how high-speed photography can reveal how mosquitoes can keep dry while flying in the rain. To find out how mosquitoes survive impacts with raindrops, a group of engineers from Georgia Institute of Technology (USA) developed a system which allowed them to photograph collisions between water droplets…
Fracking: an Energy Revolution?
This Catalyst article looks at hydraulic fracking, the process of breaking up rocks deep underground using high-pressure water mixed with sand and chemicals. The process has been used for decades in the energy industry to free oil and gas trapped in rock formations. However, questions have been raised over the environmental impact…
Time
This resource, using an investigative approach, looks at the concept of time. The suggested activities cover the movement of the sun, tides, making a simple clock, lifespans, time lapse photography and calendars. The experiments can be carried out in any order and integrated into an existing scheme of work, and are ideal as part…
Sound
The range of activities suggested here provides an interesting introduction to sound through an investigative and problem solving approach. The experiments can be carried out in any order and integrated into an existing scheme of work, and are ideal as part of a circus of activities around the classroom. The activities cover…
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