This protocol allows students to investigate the effects of the hormone auxin (Indole Acetic Acid or IAA) as a plant growth regulator. The investigations give opportunities to look at auxiliary bud development, root development, and leaf abscission in Coleus. The method is suitable for independent investigations by...

Students research the theoretical principles of thermography and create a thermogram.  They will need to:

• find out about hot body radiation and the medical uses of thermography
• Create a thermogram. Temperatures are...

These are science resources will encourage and enable students to get involved with practical science. A wide selection of materials is presented within each resource, allowing a teacher to tailor the activities for a specific group of students.

The resources in this section are:

*Coastline Protection...

These reliable practicals from SAPs allow students to practice a range of skills, such as microscopy skills, serial dilutions, plotting and using standard curves and developing mathematical skills.  These investigations were designed for students following a Scottish Highers course but they are equally useful for...

This brief resource provides five ideas for investigating the effects of eutrophication on aquatic plant life. Each activity is based on setting up a range of solutions with increasing amounts of minerals and following the growth of aquatic plants. The resource offers suggestions of how the mineral content could be...

This resource, from the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB), allows students to investigate the behaviour of ants, and includes:

• Background information about British ants.
• A step-by-step approach to the collection and maintenance of some British ants with particular reference to...

The SAPS ELISA kit for Botrytis has been developed as a low cost kit to bring practical immunology into the classroom. The monoclonal antibody in the kit detects Botrytis, a fungal pathogen. Botrytis infects plant material (such as strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes and flowers) and is of considerable importance...

In this activity from Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), students investigate what causes a Venus’ Fly Trap to shut. These experiments are related to a series of investigations that Darwin carried out as part of his work on evolution and adaptation and background...

In this activity students discover how a Tanzanian initiative reduced iodine deficiency diseases, and look at lessons the UK can learn from the example of this African nation. According to recent reports, up to 70% of British young people do not take in enough iodine. Iodine deficiency causes goiter and brain...

This Catalyst article looks into Alzheimer’s disease which affects around 465 000 people in the UK, with the number of sufferers is growing as the population ages. It is a form of dementia that causes cell death in the brain and leads to memory loss and mood swings. The article investigates whether the presence of...

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...

All life forms on Earth are based on organic biochemistry. This activity requires students to analyse an unknown soil sample (just recovered from a space mission to another planet!) and look for signs of possible indicators for life. Curriculum areas covered: • Cell biology • Food tests, including starch, sugar,...

The rush to permit controversial methods to avoid mitochondrial disease in babies raises questions, say two bioethicists.

This resource is part...

This Catalyst article looks at a newspaper report, which carried the headline “It’s life, but not as we know it”, following NASA’s supposed discovery of a ‘second form of life’. The scientific paper, published by the eminent journal Science, even created widespread speculation about the existence of extra-...

This Catalyst article looks at the career and interests of Dr Gareth Fraser, who has been interested in marine biology since he was a child. Dr Fraser describes how his interest is leading to surprising possibilities in the field of...