A Catalyst article about designing, building and testing a spacecraft. There are thousands of man-made satellites orbiting the Earth. Some are only a few hundred kilometres above the Earth and complete one orbit roughly every 90 minutes. Geostationary satellites are located around 40 000 kilometres from the surface...

This is one of the 18 Background Books published for Stage II of the Nuffield Chemistry Sample Scheme. The books were highly illustrated designed to be attractive. This book describes applications of chemistry to cleaning.

There are three parts to this book:
*Part 1: Soap
This part explains how...

As the number of cells in a microbial culture increases, turbidity increases. In this experiment students calculate doubling time and growth rate constant using absorbance as the measure of growth. Turbidity is caused by suspended cells in the growth medium scattering light, and may be measured using a colorimeter...

This experiment is a continuation of Determining Doubling Time. Students create a standard curve of absorbance against yeast concentration, and use this to determine the concentration of yeast produced over time.

The standard curve (dry mass, grams per litre) is generated from known concentrations of dried...

This National Strategies study guide offers tried and tested practical suggestions for teachers to use in the classroom when considering the teaching of How Science Works. A variety of tasks help teachers to focus on developing their own creativity and critical thinking, transferable skills which they can pass on...

In September 2002, eight new General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) courses in vocational subjects were introduced: applied art and design; applied business; engineering; health and social care; ICT; leisure and tourism; manufacturing; and applied science. This report covers the introduction of these...

Produced by Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), these activities look at career opportunities in plant biology, as well as useful classroom activities and practical investigations. The range of careers and activities covered include:

The materials in this resource are from the Secondary National Strategy ‘Progressing to Level 6 and beyond in science’ project. They were intended for science teachers who are focusing on developing writing in science – specifically explanations, arguments and descriptions.

These materials consist of general...

This paper begins by examining varying meanings of ‘professionalism’ in public policy contexts within and beyond education. These meanings are elaborated by examining empirical studies of teacher professionalism in the context of science teaching. Overall, the argument is made that policies aimed at supporting...

James Briscoe studies the highly structured development of the central nervous systems in embryos. For James, personal drive and self-motivation are key to success in science. A better understanding of the development of the spinal cord will shed light on diseased and damaged nervous systems, and the hope is that...

From the ABPI this interactive resource provides students with information on the cause, symptoms and treatment of diabetes. The resource is offered at two levels, for students aged 14-16 and an advanced version for post-16 students.

Please note: From 2021, Adobe has discontinued support for Flash player...

A Catalyst article about juvenile diabetes, a genetic disease also known as Type 1 diabetes, which affects over 200,000 people in the UK. Scientists are still trying to unravel its causes in order to develop improved treatments. This article describes what is being done to improve people’s understanding of the...

A Catalyst article about a brilliant new light source under construction in the heart of the Oxfordshire countryside - the Diamond Light Source. Diamond will be a source of synchrotron light. Many of the everyday commodities people take for granted, from chocolate to cosmetics, from revolutionary drugs to surgical...

This Catalyst article looks at diamond and graphite which are allotropes of carbon. Their properties which depend on the bonding between the carbon atoms are also examined.

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

A Catalyst article about diamonds. The element carbon exists in a number of allotropic forms, but diamonds have always held a special allure, whether it be for their hardness or for their transparency. The article examines how they can be made artificially and looks at some of their uses.

This article is...