A Catalyst article about green chemistry. Many reactions take place in solution. Water is a familiar solvent but there are many others, including a rather surprising one, carbon dioxide, which is a non-polluting ‘green’ solvent. The chemical industry relies on solvents to produce many everyday products, such as:...

This information sheet gives educators background information on how the steel making process is changing in order to reduce or eliminate the amount of carbon dioxide produced in the process. It gives details on traditional steel making processes using carbon as the reductant and then discusses alternatives to...

This activity sheet includes a range of activities including researching how buses can be powered in more sustainable and environmentally friendly ways, a quiz and a world jumble. The resource also gives a web link allowing pupils to further explore any questions they may have, learn fun facts and discover a range...

This resource provides a set of videos of a practical investigation aimed at supporting working scientifically in the classroom and relating science to real world experiences, presented by Professor Brian Cox and Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock. In this video, Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock joins a teacher to demonstrate a...

Many of the chemicals we use as drugs, flavourings and perfumes originate from natural sources but often the most economical way of obtaining them is to produce them artificially on an industrial scale. Scientists at the University of Oxford are researching into how to...

In this activity pupils will undertake a controlled experiment to investigate how gases in the atmosphere affect the heat in an enclosed environment, by tracking the change in temperature of a glass jar containing carbon dioxide against a control jar. They will learn about the greenhouse effect and the role of...

A fact sheet from the Geological society that explores the different greenhouse gases in our atmosphere and the impact they have on our climate. The fact sheet also looks at the human sources of greenhouse gas emissions such as transport, agriculture and industry. 

A Catalyst article about using computers to crunch data from CERN. The article looks at GridPP, a UK computing grid for handling particle physics data.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2007, Volume 17, Issue 4.

Catalyst ...

In the context of finding out why we grit roads in winter, students are shown what happens when salt is sprinkled onto ice lollies.  They are then asked If they believe that the temperature of the ice lolly with the salt will increase or decrease, causing it to melt faster. Students then investigate some...

From the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC), these colourful posters illustrate some of the products that can be made from plants. Engaging and clear, they can be used as a stimulus when introducing ideas about sustainable development and renewable materials. The posters cover:

• medicines from...

Aimed at primary level, this resource links to the topics of plants and living things and their habitats.The activities are designed to build on earlier knowledge and develop ideas and skills within grouping and classification. They start with activities which help...

This resource, from the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC), explains how children can grow their own sunflowers and how plant oils can be made into plastic. It helps to demonstrate how sunflowers can be grown to produce a renewable supply of plant oil. This activity can be done at home or in school and allows...

As people live longer the demand for new organs to replace failed ones increases. One possible solution is to build new organs in a dish from cells taken from the patient’s own body. Students use evidence from case studies to work out if this is possible and then to decide whether this new technology offers a good...

This activity comes with a handy teacher's guide and lesson plan, a set of easy to read questions aimed at probing deeper thinking in your pupils, and an informative presentation to run the activity. Learn how seeds germinate and grow, whilst using simple grass (or cress) seeds to design, plant and grow their own...