This Catalyst article explains how to make an elastic band using Copydex, a source of rubber latex. Rubber latex is a liquid polymer. It is made of long molecules which are all separate. Elastic bands are made by cross-linking the polymers in rubber latex. This changes the properties of the polymer and forms a...

This Catalyst article describes how an indicator changes colour when in solutions of different pH. Most indicators simply turn one colour in acid and another in alkali, although they are often an in-between colour when neutral. A universal indicator only turns as many colours as it does because it is a mixture of...

This Catalyst article describes how to make a lava lamp by using three simple ingredients: vegetable oil, food colouring and fizzing tablets. The article also explains the processes taking place inside a real lava lamp and why they happen.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2011, Volume...

Produced by Solar Spark, this activity allows students to make a photovoltaic cell in the school laboratory. A solar cell uses light from the sun to produce electricity. A type of solar cell, called a dye-sensitised solar cell (DSSC), can be made. This type of cell is cheaper than other solar cells, and is now...

This Catalyst article includes a recipe on how to make a non-Newtonian fluid which flows in strange and unexpected ways.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2016, Volume 26, Issue 4.

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This video demonstrates how a plasma can be made from heating a grape in a microwave. When gases from the grape absorb microwave energy electrons are removed. The free-moving electrons and positively charged gas molecules form the plasma.  The experiment shows how plasma produces visible light. However, the...

This Makerbot educations guidebook supports the users of 3D printers to understand the basics on how 3D printers work and how to use them, including a crash course on 3D design. It provides nine, 3D printing lesson plans to integrate the technology into the classroom, bringing STEM and project based learning to a...

This report from Professor Adrian Smith’s inquiry into post–14 mathematics was published in February 2004 and investigated why the UK was not meeting the demand for graduates and postgraduates in strongly mathematically oriented subjects.

Published by LSIS, this report describes an action research project by Future-Wise Ltd. The project involved the creation of a maths resource library containing materials suitable for level 1 and level 2 key skill learners. The resources are aimed at promoting more active learning in 1-2-1 and class sessions, with...

The booklet, from the Institute of Physics, considers how physics can connect with learners and with other human activities and areas of knowledge.

[b]Content includes[/b]:
•making explicit the coherence of the subject
•portraying scientists as real people
•introducing what it is like to...

Making sense of data: 16-19 core skills resource pack consists of five sections:

• General Introduction: an overview of the materials and their uses.

• INSET pack: introduces teachers to some of the ideas of exploratory data analysis.

• Guides to the topic resources: provides...

This collection of resources from Nuffield are designed to improve the ability of students to analyse and present data, ask questions about and find meaning in data and discuss critically the interpretation of data. 'Exploratory Data Analysis' emphasises getting to know the data, analysing and finding meaning,...

This is one of a series of extended units, from the Association for Science Education and the Design and Technology Association, to provide in-depth coverage of a topic or an area of the curriculum. Through work on this unit, students learn about the potential for using renewable energy resources from small (local...