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...

From the National Non-Food Crops Centre, this factsheet looks at the use of Echium plantagineum as a crop that produces speciality oils. Echium seeds contain oil, which is high in alpha linolenic acid (ALA), gamma linolenic acid (GLA) and stearidonic acid (SDA). Such characteristics make echium oil a valuable...

This is card game in which  students can learn about ecosystems and biodiversity and explore the fascinating natural history of organisms in the United Kingdom. The game includes species interactions, human impacts and diversity while students compete or collaborate in building a food web or classify diverse...

The Eco-design web is a useful tool to help students’ analyse an existing product or design. It can also be used to indicate areas of the product that can be redesigned to improve its environmental sustainability.

The environmental impact of a product throughout the different stages of its lifecycle are quantified in this activity. Data from the Eco-indicator 99 Manual for Designers is required for the final evaluation task.

Amy is an ecologist working with the Forestry Commission. Amy is very frank in the video about her school history, describing her school reports as "less than shiny", and the video conveys how applied scientific research focuses her naturally curious nature.

In the video Amy describes how she writes computer...

Ecology is one of the titles in the series of ASE Lab Books that were published in the early 1970s for the Association for Science Education by John Murray. Each title covered one or two topics and brought together the best of the teaching notes and experimental ideas...

These activities allow students to model how environmental scientists compare diversity in different ecosystems by using ordinary playing cards as ‘species’ to generate data to calculate Simpson’s Diversity Index. This can be completed in a single lesson. Some students find the concept of species diversity quite...

Two worksheet based activities that can be used to identify the impacts of technology upon people to sustain their communities in the future. The first activity considers the economic impact upon sustainability with key questions to research and the second task is an analysis activity looking at cultural, economic...

In this STEMNET resource, maths teacher Ed Dyke describes a STEM project undertaken by his school in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, called Rocket Day. The project was funded by the York and North Yorkshire Business and Education Partnership (NYBEP). Also involved was STEM Ambassador Clive Bell, who has worked for the...

These MEI Online resources are suitable for use by students studying Edexcel Further Pure Mathematics 1 (FP1).

There are detailed study notes for complex numbers, Powerpoint presentations to demonstrate techniques for factorising polynomials, demonstrations of the Argand diagram, topic related tests and...

This report evaluates design and technology provision based on a three-year evaluation of design and technology in primary and secondary schools. Evidence was drawn from school inspections during the period 2004–05 as well as from focused surveys by Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) from 2004 to 2007. The surveys...

This is a collection of academic research papers, best practice evidence, case studies of action research in schools, reviews of education research and reports related to educational research in the STEM subjects.

For ease of use, the collection has been divided into three sections:

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A Catalyst article about careers in educational psychology. For students of psychology there are a range of career options; this article looks at the role of an educational psychologist and a typical working day.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2006, Volume 16, Issue 4.

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