This set of activities introduces children to cryptography techniques, showing how the use of computers can make encryption quicker and more effective. Some notable examples of the use of encryption in history are mentioned, leading to the use of calculation machines for code-making and code-breaking.

A...

This activity from Cre8ate maths explores the rotational symmetry of carefully chosen crystals. Initially students work with plain and coloured nets of cubes may use trial and improvement methods to find different possible rotations of symmetry, before exploring ways to be systematic in their investigation. For...

This activity from Cre8ate maths explores Platonic solids, which are formed from regular polygons where all their faces are identical and all their vertices are identical too. Students are told that there are only five platonic solids, which they can build using triangles, squares and pentagons. Completing the...

In this activity, students learn about X-ray crystallography. As well as considering its importance (scientists have used the technique to elucidate the structures of over half a million substances) students use models to learn about – and...

In this activity, students synthesise prior learning about structure and bonding, and about enzymes, and apply it to a new context: X-ray crystallography. The main part of the activity involves students pitching for funding for new equipment – how will they use the...

These downloadable videos and animations are part of the multimedia package Stuff and Substance, developed by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). They can be used to develop the idea that substances in the solid state usually consist of crystals, even though...

This resource, from the Maths Careers website, contains data collected from 100 groups competing in a cube puzzle.

The information was collected as part of the Big Bang London Science Fair and includes a range of investigations to help explore the data. Areas covered include scatter diagrams, correlation,...

This resource features a short task on cubic functions.

Students are given a graph of a cubic function. They then have a series of tasks to complete relating to the function. These tasks involve; substitution, interpreting the graph, explaining how the cubic only has one solution, determining the y-axis...

The graph of a cubic function with three real roots is drawn. A circle is then drawn so that the circumference of the circle passes through two adjacent roots. A tangent to...

This interactive excel program enables students to investigate cubic functions and the relationship between the factorised form and the graph.

The first activities require the student to use the factor theorem to...

In this teacher presentation and collection of student worksheets, the area of each face of a cuboid is given. Students are then asked to calculate the volume.

Each student worksheet contains a different cuboid, but the solutions all have something in common. The teacher presentations highlights two possible...

In this teacher presentation and collection of student worksheets, the area of each face of a cuboid is given. Students are then asked to calculate the volume.

Each student worksheet contains a different cuboid, but the solutions all have something in common. The teacher presentations highlights two possible...

This interactive excel file begins with a sheet showing the dimensions of a cuboid beside an oblique drawing of the cuboid. The student needs to calculate the area of the three different faces, the total surface area and the volume of the cuboid. The dimensions can be...

This activity is from the Association of Teachers of Mathematics (ATM) publication ‘Learning and Teaching Without a...

This role play activity illustrates natural selection, based on the cuckoo/host example of co-evolution. as well as providing opportunities for developing key scientific skills such as experimental design and research.

Examples of natural selection and evolution in secondary...