Understanding Food Additives
From CIEC Promoting Science, this booklet is the forerunner of its Understanding Food Additives web site. The booklet contains information on a range of food additives and extensive suggestions for practical activities to investigate food and food additives. Food additives described in the booklet include: • Acidulants…
Room for Improvement
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, this booklet contains a variety of practical investigations for children aged 8-10 which provide a focus for planning and carrying out science and technology based activities. Set around the context of redecorating a bedroom, the activities encourage children to undertake the following investigations: •…
Dental Dilemmas
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, this resource looks at the testing of materials in the context of dentistry. Students first look at the properties of teeth and the nature of toothache before going on to test materials for a range of properties. Experimental methods detailed include: • testing the relative hardness…
War Against Pests
From CIEC Promoting Science, these materials help students to understand key ideas in the use of agrochemicals. These include: • synthetic and natural pesticides • biological control • food chains and the management of ecosystems • predator-prey relationships • benefits and drawbacks of using agrochemicals…
Vitamin C - the Elixir of Life?
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, the activities in this resource allow students to examine science concepts applicable to the healthcare industries and the work of people in the sector. The activities in the resources cover areas that include: • Determination of the vitamin C content lost into solution during the cooking…
Science Specials Needs Supplement
From CIEC Promoting Science, this book contains a range of science investigations that have been adapted for secondary-school students with particular learning needs. In these activities appropriate teaching and learning strategies allow special needs students to play a full part within science activities. Additionally, the teacher…
Tablet Coating: Not Just a Pretty Colour
These activities, produced by CIEC Promoting Science, help students understand about the formulation and design of coating used for tablets taken as medicines. Designed originally as a unit of GNVQ teaching, the materials contain a range of practical investigations that would be useful for students studying post-16 chemistry, applied…
Recycling Cities
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, these activities help students to examine the recycling of materials, concentrating on polymers and the potential for the recycling of waste plastics. In doing so, students look at polymers, the properties of plastics, purifying components of a mixture, waste disposal and sustainable development.…
Magnox
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, these materials look at nuclear fission and nuclear reactors. The activities examine the trend in reactivity of the metals in group II of the periodic table and includes a brief study of isotopes in relation to nuclear fission and nuclear fusion reactions. They enable students to: • Look…
Let Sleeping Bags Lie
From CIEC Promoting Science, this series of activities investigates heat transfer and the thermal insulation properties of sleeping bags. In the investigation, students: • Consider the requirements for different categories of sleeping bags. • Measure the volume of air trapped in a number of materials used for sleeping…
Inclusive Science: Activities for 14-16 Year Olds
From CIEC Promoting Science, this book looks at providing opportunities in science for students with specific learning needs. As well as advice and guidance, it includes details of a range of practical activities and investigations. The book illustrates: • potential barriers to learning in mainstream science activities…
Hydrogen as an Energy Carrier
From CIEC Promoting Science, these activities look at hydrogen, its preparation by electrolysis and its potential as a transportable fuel. In the activities, students: • Study the properties of hydrogen in order to evaluate it and identify the technological problems that must be overcome to enable its use as a fuel •…
Hot Chocolate
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, these activities help students to investigate the absorption of radiation, heat transfer and heat capacity. Taken from a real-life scenario, the students look at the effects of different colours on the amount of heat a container absorbs. This mirrors an issue encountered by a chocolate manufacturer…
Frozen Assets
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, this activity engages students to consider the responsible use of chemicals and an analysis of the impact of a product through all the stages in its life. In this context, students attempt an analysis for different de-icers that might be used on roads in winter. They consider the costs and other…
A Question of Cooling
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, these materials help students to gain an understanding of a number of scientific ideas through investigating how a refrigerator works. The key ideas covered include: • liquids require heat to evaporate • some gases can be liquefied at room temperature by compression • vapours…
Waste Away
From CIEC Promoting Science, these resources allow students to consider the problems of industrial waste disposal. In particular they focus on the biological treatment of industrial waste using air as a source of oxygen and problems that such biological treatment plants face. Aimed at students aged 12-14 years, the activities…
Polymers: Information and Activity Book
From CIEC Promoting Science, this book is aimed at post-16 chemistry students but will also be useful for students following technology or vocational courses. The book helps students to first understand the basis of polymer chemistry and the plastics industry. It moves on to consider detailed information on individual polymers, including…
Polymers: Physical Testing
From CIEC Promoting Science, these activities are aimed at post-16 students following courses in technology, engineering, physics or materials science. The activities described allow students to gain experience and practice experimental technique in the testing of materials' physical properties. The tests include: • Compression…
Product Design: Polymers in Sleeping Bags
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, this set of activities allows students to investigate the properties of polymers in relation to the design requirements for a sleeping bag. Students carry out an investigation of the design and manufacture of sleeping bags as a product analysis exercise. This helps students to develop technological…
Sweet Success
From CIEC Promoting Science, these activities investigate the crystallisation of sugar in the fondant of creme eggs. Complaints of 'glass' in creme eggs, and other sugar confectionery products, are sometimes the result of the growth of very large crystals of sugar. In these materials, students investigate the causes…
Fit to Drink
From CIEC Promoting Science, these activities look at the question of drinking water quality. The activities examine the issues involved and looks in detail at ways of removing nitrates from drinking water supplies. Both water treatment and agricultural solutions are considered. The unit is suitable for use with students who have…
Controlling Reactions: A Case Study
These activities, produced by CIEC Promoting Science, are based on a BASF chemical plant at Seal Sands, Middlesbrough. They enable students to see how and why chemical reactions are controlled in a chemical plant. The materials contain full teacher guidance, student notes and activity sheets. Originally developed for GNVQ Advanced…
Clean Science
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, in these activities, students investigate the cleaning power of washing agents and through a series of investigations that include: • Which washing agent works best at low temperatures? • Which washing agent produces the most foam? • Does a washing agent need foam? •…
Chemistry in Action
Produced by the University of York Science Education Group and published by CIEC Promoting Science, this resource contains ten teaching units that explore the social, industrial and economic aspects of chemistry as well as encouraging students to acquire investigative and practical skills. Each unit has been designed to: •…
Cash and Chemicals
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, this resource looks to help post-16 students to improve their understanding of the working methods of science-based industry. The activity looks at the decisions involved in the design and development of a chemical plant to produce a chemical intermediate required by a new customer. Working…
Is There Anyone Out There?
This resource was funded by the UK Space Agency and developed by ESERO-UK and CIEC Promoting Science. It is based upon the quest to discover more about the solar system through space projects such as the European Space Agency’s Aurora programme, and NASA’s Curiosity mission seeking to gather evidence of life on the planet…
5/5- Publication year: 2010 to date
- Activity sheet
Turf Troubles
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, these resources help to put curriculum science in a real life context. A sports company wish to provide a turf surface at a sports ground suitable for a range of activities. Information is required on suitable grass types and the best growing conditions. They also need to know how much water…
Smart Bricks for Smart Plants
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, these resources help to put curriculum science in a real life context. In these activities, children compare plants grown in a variety of nutrients. They investigate the best conditions to grow turf for a sports pitch. During the activities, children also look at plants and see how the structures…
Water for Industry
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, these resources help to put curriculum science in a real life context. Children follow the use of water from a reservoir, through an industrial site where it is treated, used as cooling water, and treated again before being returned to a river. Using this context, children investigate: •…
Runny Liquids
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, these resources help to put curriculum science in a real life context. Children consider the properties of liquids in the context of a company which produces a thick, sticky liquid that needs stirring and transporting. The activities provide an opportunity to learn about the properties of liquids…
Renewables Don't Run Out
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, these resources help to put curriculum science in a real life context. The activities provide opportunities for children to consider the use of plant material (biomass) for renewable energy. They go on to look at some of the problems that using biomass can pose and to think about other applications…
Plastics Playtime
Produced by CIEC Promoting Science, these resources help to put curriculum science in a real life context. In these activities, children test and classify plastics before investigating their thermal insulation and shock resistance properties. The children then design, make and test a package for a fragile object, using plastics and…