DfEE
National Curriculum - Secondary Science section
General Information | Experimental and Investigative Science (Physics) | Life Processes and Living Things (Biology) | Physical Processes (Chemistry)
Nature | Government Departments | Sites covering a range of topics | Scientists and the History of Science | Science at GCSE | Astronomy | Flight and Aviation | Energy | Time | Sound | Light | Electricity | Mechanisms | Gravity | Magnetism | Heat | Sites covering general physics topics | Environmental Issues |
Living Things: Anatomy and Physiology | Conservation | Evolution | Human Biology | Entomology | Mammals | Reptiles | Birds and Flight | The Sea | Plants | Palaeontology | Health Care | Genetics | Microbiology | Ecology
Chemistry | Materials and their Properties
DfEE
National Curriculum - Secondary Science section
General Science Topics
Museums, Periodicals and Scientific Organisations
US TV channel, Discovery, has an enormous website covering just about everything you may ever want to know about the physical and human worlds. From woolly mammoths to the sacred temples of Bali to puppy cams, there is a bewildering range of topics for the student, teacher and general surfer to browse through. The kids' section on its own contains dozens of educational adventures. Whatever you want to know, discover it here.
The
Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
The
Association for Science Education
International
weekly journal of science.
This site provides access to, and information about, science, nature, art and technology, based around the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco.
The
Official Website of the Nobel Foundation
The
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
The Institution's programme of events for schools, and the previous years' lectures.
Countryside controversies such as fox hunting and the 'right to roam' are discussed.
Country
Landowners' Association
Teachers and students can publish on the Web their perspectives on the educational use of the Science Museum in London.
Learn how to set up a butterfly garden with this science Key Stage 2 project.
Ministry
of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Useful data for studying agricultural trends and farm yields for environmental topics.
A virtual museum of science and industry.
Sites covering a range of topics
Oxford University Press provide links to many science sites
The
Why Files (The Science Behind the News)
This is a large up-to-date database that tries to answer science questions, especially topical ones.
Search by keyword or open your question up to the Web and receive an answer from a scientist within a week.
A top site for all science teachers. The site is crammed full of up-to-the-minute features and news from the world of science.
This BBC site includins transcipts of the radio series it supports, quizzes on English, maths and science, an education chatroom, an FAQ, information on how a radio studio works.
This site has everything you could possibly need including lesson notes, education resources and chat forums as well as numerous other pages for teachers, students and parents alike.
A comprehensive guide to the beginnings of western science and a worthy discussion starting point filled with images, text and even practical work.
Practical activity in observational science
A wealth of activities and information adaptable to most Key Stages.
Website of a science teacher at a UK secondary school.
Part of the vast Scientific American website, you can find here questions and answers on a multitude of science topics.
Access daily facts about a variety of topics from ketchup to black holes.
PUMAS:
Practical Uses of Maths and Science
A resource primarily for teachers aimed at enriching the classroom experience. A collection of examples, written by scientists and engineers, that investigate topics in the context of everyday life.
The resource attempts to show that there is much to be learned from scientific misconceptions and untruths.
An extensive database of questions from all science areas.
Science projects suitable for KS 2, 3, 4 and through to A-level.
Download or solve scientific mysteries online.
Many activities covering a variety of curriculum areas including Maths and English, presented in a fun and challenging way.
Forty fascinating images from all branches of science giving you the 'science behind the news'.
Roger Frost, maintains this extensive site containing detailed reviews of science software and company contact addresses.
Over thirty animations covering mechanics, waves, optics, life sciences and more.
Contains many animations of scientific principles in action.
A massive resource that covers many areas of science in an easy-to-use and student-friendly style.
National
Grid - Groundwork Four Seasons Project
Investigate how the weather affects the world around us; or animals and plants; or the impact on energy consumption of energy-saving practice in school.
Scientific puzzles, optical illusions, magic mirrors, and even an investigation into whether Napoleon really did die from arsenic in his wallpaper. .
The
Last Word - Science Questions
An archive from The New Scientist magazine containing over 450 science based questions that pupils might ask related to scientific phenomena.
A mixed bag of science topics for key stage 3 students.
Scientists and the History of Science
Albert Einstein's life and science without too much maths and physics.
A collection of information on the life and times of Galileo Galilei.
Students pages on the life and experimental times of Galileo.
Mathematician Babbage is best known for revolutionising modern life by inventing the computer.
A databank of twentieth-century scientists, their stories and discoveries. Use the search facilities or browse by category to find out the background behind the legends.
Centres on great inventions and inventors of the world.
4000
Years of Women in Science
Biographies and pictures are mostly dedicated to pre-twentieth-century female scholars and inventors including Marie Curie, Dorothy Hodgkin and many more.
Part of the International Union of Crystallography site, this is an article from the 'CERN Courier' about things happening in atomic physics a hundred years ago (1895), such as work on x-rays and radio telegraphy.
Arthur
C. Clarke Foundation Site
Comprehensive support to all students working on SC1 investigation coursework for Key Stage 4.
Interactive website allows students to revise the main concepts then test their knowledge.
Experimental and Investigative Science (Physics)
This NASA site displays Hubble telescope pictures
Reviews from films, television and the news point out scientific errors and mistakes.
Exploring
Planets in the Classroom: Hands-On Activities
The
Nine Planets - A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System
The
Satellite Construction Set
Roles and purposes of artificial satellites.
Simple orbits and whole solar systems with comets can be explored.
Mars
Pathfinder - Welcome to Mars
Working
on sunshine
Global Solar Partners is a project from the Association for Science Education
with sponsorship from BP. The "Global Solar Exchange Unit' is designed for
teenage students aged 12 to 16+. It enables them to research aspects of solar
energy in their locality and then to exchange information and ideas with
other students around the world. The unit is ideal for teachers and students
who prefer to work on a short, focused project, and includes teachers' notes,
student work pages, an exchange form and up-to-date support data.
Multimedia links to related sites and a facility for questioning famous astronauts like Buzz Aldrin.
Submit an inquiry or search the treasure chest of previously answered questions.
A monthly magazine from an American astronomer tells you all about the sky each month.
Kepler's law of planetary movement, characteristics of stars and earthquakes.
Orrery
Applet of the Solar System
The four inner planets of the solar system and their moons rotate with stately grace.
Views of different parts of the globe, with or without clouds, from different altitudes and locations, including the night side.
Dr. Schatzer's paper on the space-time continuum and travelling faster than light speed.
A Satellite Navigation System. Detailed information, data and graphics on how the system works and its military origin.
Total
Solar Eclipse of 11 August 1999
Examines a one million-year-old meteorite.
Observing
the Eclipse:Eye Safety And Solar Eclipses
A superb resource of Solar System related material from NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Excellent site for pupils learning Science to explore and find out more about space.
Real-time tracking for a large number of orbiting satellites.
This vast site contains an excellent set of resources for studying an on-going space mission.
Leicester
University Educational Guide to Space and astronomy
A good introduction to Space, the Universe and the Solar System.
Space Telescope Electronic Information System. The Hubble telescope downloads its spectacular images straight to the Net.
Bradford University Robotic
Telescope
You can control a robotic telescope and select the co-ordinates you wish to photograph.
This website contains all the links to the best sites connect with space and astronomy.
Useful to anyone who wants to understand the principles of flight and how an aeroplane behaves.
The Wright Brothers and transatlantic flight.
Nuclear
Physics: Past, Present and Future
Find out the how and why of nuclear power. What are the reactors like? What happens to the waste? .
CERN
- European Laboratory for Particle Physics
Neutrons, protons and electrons come alive
On-line
Renewable Energy Education Module
Text and picture treatment of renewable energy namely: Solar, Wind, Biomass, Hydroelectricity and Geothermal.
The contentious issue of nuclear energy is examined
World Energy
Use
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/3621/ENERGY1.HTM
Renewable
Energy Education Module
Information about solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass energy sources.
Energy wordsearches, stories, puns, puzzles and games for use on- and offline.
Watt's
that? - Internet energy game show
Three possible energy games to play.Very useful at the end of a teaching unit on Energy!
Description of a linear accelerator and how it works
This site calculates sunset, sunrise and day length for any location in the world just by clicking on a map.
The fundamental nature of time and space is the main theme of this BBC website.
A simple presentation of the nature of sound, speed, diffraction and the Doppler effect.
Facts on lightning, including lightning bolts, lightning detection and lightning history.
Refraction of light used to produce the phenomenon called a rainbow.
Easy,
Satisfying and Fun Laser Activities
Light and waves and ideas for refraction and interference effects.
A review of light and its properties.
How to use mini Maglite torches in some entertaining experiments based on light.
Create rainbows, dissect a floppy disk, grow mould or make your own lava lamp with these novel ideas.
Suggested activity demonstrating static electricity.
Residual
Current Devices (RCD)
Electrical safety for Key Stage 4.
Can
You Read Your Electricity Meter?
Useful resource for teachers of upper KS 2 and KS 3 looking at what electricity is and important safety rules.
Electrical
and Electronic Symbols
Online self-test that would be useful for GCSE science or A-level physics revision of symbols.
Exploratorium's
Science of Cycling
An excellent site which explains how technology works.
Build your own rollercoaster and learn about the force behind fun. Once you've selected your twists and turns, click to see whether your ride is fast and if not, why not. Children aged eight and upwards will find it educational and fun.
(Review from Computer Active Issue 16)
3D
Magnetic and Electrical Field Viewing Bottle
A new variation on using iron filings to visualise magnetic fields for Key Stage 3 science.
Interactive animation shows the behaviour of atoms at different temperatures.
Sites covering general physics topics
Topics covered are force, work, tension, torque, projectile, momentum, electricity and kinematics.
IPPEX
Interactive Physics Modules
A set of physics modules on the states of matter, electricity and magnetism, energy and fusion.
A site run by Professor Louis A. Bloomfield, deals with all aspects of science; from the possibility of a speed that is greater than the speed of light to the physics of an everyday refrigerator.
Optics, lenses, reaction time, molecular models, Brownian motion, collisions etc. A great collection for the A level physics student.
A student-friendly site giving a refreshing sideways perspective on physics.
Sport!
Science@The Exploratorium
Speed, friction, levers and temperature are some of the areas covered.
SEED
- Schlumberger Excellence in Education
Have a go at investigations like 'How Long Is the Day?', 'The Absorbency of Rock' or 'The Electrical Resistivity of Materials' and send in your data to SEED.
It covers conventional areas such as Newton's Laws, waves and refraction, with clear diagrams to help explain the concepts.
Investigate air, light, microbes, mixtures and forces in this interactive site.
Drawings of people and equipment on a wide range of safety topics including electricity and heat.
This US site offers free advice on learning physics.
You can find out all about how steam-driven machinery revolutionised industry and even build your own animated machines, ranging from Stephenson's Rocket to the powerhouse in a spinning mill.
Selecting
Insulated Vests and Jackets
Modern clothing insulation materials are described and their insulation properties are compared.
Rubber bands, springs, flywheels, candles and gravity power the toys which range from camphor boats to rubber-band guns. .
Starts with circuit symbols and ends with Kirchhoff's Laws.
Exploring
the Environment: modules and activities
Activities covering hurricanes, rainforests, volcanoes, water quality and climate change.
Alternative transport, challenging the use of conventional non-renewable resources.
National
Air Quality Information Archive
A site funded by the Dept of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. Includes coloured maps showing levels for the major pollutants and daily updated statistics on air quality.
Recycle
City (Environmental Protection Agency)
This US government site investigates ways of reducing, re-using and recycling resources.
Rainforest
Action Network - searching for oil
Dramatic and comprehensive account of the effects of oil exploration on our planet.
National
Air Quality Information Archive
This site provides information about air pollution in the UK, covering every pollutant in terms of sources, chemistry and effects.
Acid
Rain Program (US Government Environment Protection Agency)
Environment Protection Agency's site contains a comprehensive study of the sources, science and effects of acid rain.
Part of a larger site that also considers other forms of pollution such as noise, exhaust and light, as well as wider environmental issues such as transport, diodiversity and recycling.
Life Processes and Living Things (Biology)
Information about British wildlife can be found here.
This is the site that supports the BBC’s natural history programmes.
Born Free Foundation have information about a range of projects worldwide, including campaigns to help endangered whales and tigers and the horrors of the logging trade.
World
Wildlife Fund for Nature
Ministry
of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food: BSE
Excellent presentation graphics and items such as 'Most ferocious animal' and 'Biggest spider', etc.
Well-presented information on all aspects of science.
Find out about almost any animal on Earth.
Living Things: Anatomy and Physiology
Anatomy,
classification, ecosystems and life cycles are a few of the topics.
Fractals in Nature with its attractive images, simulations and films.
The
World Conservation Monitoring Centre
Extensive database on conservation including the world's threatened animals and plants.
Bagheera:
A Site for Endangered Species
This site introduces some basic physical and human geography of the Amazon as well as the risks and benefits of ecotourism as a development strategy.
International
Centre for Conservation Education
A charity that seeks to promote greater understanding of conservation and the environment world-wide to help bring about sustainable development.
Accompany Charles Darwin from England to Salvador on the journey that changed thinking about the origins of life.
Evolution
(BBC Education)
Information on important scientists such as Lamarck and Darwin.
Evolutionary
and Geological Timelines
Support for Key Stage 4 evolution studies.
A collection of poems by Victorian poet W. E. Henley relating to experiences of illness and hospital.
The structure and function relationship of skeletal muscle, metabolism and joint movement.
Department
of Health: Health of the Nation
This site contains 'Health of the Nation' information from the Department of Health, covering national trends.
A useful starting point for work on the human body.
The Gallery page contains highly original, and startling images of the skeleton.
Heart
Special (BBC Education)
BBC website contains advice on living with heart disease from the British Heart Foundation.
This site is a collection of images of parts of the body. Each set of images can also be downloaded as an MPEG movie.
Digital
Anatomist Interactive Brain Atlas
An exhaustive site provides support materials for any work on the nervous system
Seeing,
Hearing and Smelling the World
A well presented site more suitable for Key Stage 4.
The
Heart: An Online Exploration
This fascinating site details the pathologies of bodies found in bogs.
QUEST is an interactive virtual handling table published by the Natural History Museum, London.
Detailed information on invertebrates such as spiders, insects, woodlice, mites, etc.
Bright, colourful and packed with images and information on Australian spiders.
The
Wonderful World of Insects
Provides information and images ranging from worms to tarantulas.
This site focuses on the spiders of Queensland, Australia
Lifestyle and biology of the slug.
Construction
of an Orb Web Spider’s Web
Explanations and diagrams showing step-by-step how an orb web spider constructs its web.
Here you will find superb photographs of insects, spiders, reptiles, amphibians, plants, flowers and more.
Fourteen different insects are displayed using Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML).
Planet
of the super-strong ants
Labelled as 'the definitive source for ant enthusiasts', this certainly is. These busy creatures are -said to be one of the few species that would survive a nuclear holocaust. The site is full of detail and impressive information: "Ants can carry large loads up to 50 times their weight. Many can haul these objects long distances and even climb trees with them! If humans could match this, a 100-pound person would be able to pick up a small car, carry it seven or eight miles on his back, and then climb up the tallest mountain in the world still carrying the car!"
Bat
Conservation International
Online quiz tests basic knowledge of the five main vertebrate groups.
Covering camouflage, this interactive site demonstrates how much easier it is to spot camouflaged animals when they move.
This US site provides lots of information and pictures of urban foxes, including a detailed look into adaptations, diet, life history, range and behaviour.
The captive breeding programme to return to the wild the endangered Mongolian wild or Przewalski horse .
Explore the wonders of the animal kingdom through beautiful images and educational commentary.
Cat diseases, conditions and behaviour.
Dissecting a frog by means of interactive images in a bloodless, painless and humanitarian way.
Covering ancient flyers, insects, birds, bats and marine life which 'flies' underwater
Information and photographs on the appearance, diet, range and life history of all our hawks and owls.
Venture undersea or into outer space in the subship Cousteau or the starship Sagan.
Online guide to Deep Sea World in South Queensferry, Scotland.
Colourful informative and easy-to-navigate site containing facts on oceans, seas, and all types of aquatic environments.
This is an online ocean adventure game from Canada, which uses Macromedia Shockwave Flash v3.
X-rays of a flowers.
Quiz for Biology students with a knowledge of basic plant structure.
A guide to the main parts of a plant cell.
Information on propagating various plants.
Information on Australia’s past, its flora and fauna and cultural development.
The
Great Plant Escape: Plant Parts
Science
and Plants for Schools (SAPS)
Cambridge University's Department of Plant Science has developed this collection of resources to support teachers in botanical science and molecular biology.
The 'Wild Library' contains clear illustrations and information about all the major plant and animal groups in Ireland.
Single-celled plants of great variety and beauty.
The
Biology Project of the University of Arizona
Toxicology as well as pages on cell structure.
Navigation tools allow you to travel between exhibits on any organism or geological time period.
Dinosaur
Data Files (Natural History Museum)
Data files on thirty dinosaurs, which can be downloaded as Excel spreadsheets.
Seeks to create an understanding of the inter-relatedness of life and the physical planet.
Geological/Evolutionary
History Timeline
Suitable for direct use by Key Stage 4 students.
Historical evidence of when and how different species became extinct.
Action
on Smoking and Health (ASH)
An attempt to get friends to help other teenagers who may have a problem with drink or drugs.
An innovative approach to providing drug education. See the feature on the body containing organs which provides information about that part of the body and the effects of drugs upon it.
Detailed information on vaccination, immunisation and the global strategies that have beendeveloped.
Explanations about different types of cancer and support organisations.
Imperial
Cancer Research: Studies, Trials and Reports
Cancer
and You (BBC Education)
Coloured animations of a variety of heart-related topics including heart disease and bypass surgery.
Fast
Food Facts - Interactive Food Finder
Interactive database that gives the nutritional values of different foods.
A good general interest site about food and health.
United
States Agricultural Research Service Nutrient Data Laboratory
Exhaustive database of the nutritional contents of food.
Animated
interactive site explaining genetics
A picture and biography of this overlooked zoologist who developed the theory of 'inheritance of acquired traits'
Drosophila
Virtual Library: Virtual Flylab
This is a genetics site that will let you make virtual fly crosses and see the results instantly.
A detailed site which will support and extend the learning of students studying genetics or inheritance at Key Stage 4 .
Online ready-reference with well over 5000 entries
Decode at this simple site which will convert a short message in any language into the four base codes of DNA.
DNA
from the Beginning
All about the basics of DNA, genes and heredity. It is a multimedia site
and the science behind each idea is explained by animation, images, videos
and interviews. There are also biographies of the main people in the field
and links, and sections on classical genetics, molecules of genetics and
the organisation of genetic material
Natural
History Museum: Amber and DNA
Biotech's
Life Science Dictionary
This searchable dictionary of biochemical, biotechnology, botany, cell biology and genetics terms.
Virtual
Flylab / Design and Mate Flies
This advanced site, which allows students to carry out Drosophilla crosses in seconds, is quick andeasy to use.
Examines the effects of gene mutation on fruit flies, comparing mutated flies with the normal fruit fly.
The role of yeast in bread and beer making is covered.
This is an excellent site with a free biology course and lots of well displayed information, including plenty of microphotographs..
The
World-Wide Web Virtual Library: Microscopy
Sites specialising in pictures of organisms and bits of organisms under the microscope.
Minibeasts and body bits are scrutinised under the microscope.
A useful introduction for those considering advanced study of microbiology.
A series of frequently asked questions cover major areas of our contact with microbes.
Beginner's
Guide to Molecular Biology
Topics that include: DNA, mitosis, chemical bonding, enzyme activity, surface tension and evolution.
Biochemical
Learning Resources
A website devoted to all the practical and political dilemmas raised by creating car-free cities.
Greenpeace
International Ozone Campaign Photo & Video Album
From the Dicovery Channel Online, this site covers all the contemporary environmental issues in an eye-catching and interactive format.
Bright
Edges of the World, Drylands: A Children's View
A site which looks at 'drylands' or 'savannahs' and demonstrates their ecological importance.
Take an illustrated cybertour of the seven mini Earth ecosystems that comprise the Biosphere.
Natural
Resources Defense Council
Read the online journal, find the latest news, take part in a survey, test your eco-knowledge or just get the hard facts.
What's
It Like Where You Live?
Six major biomes are covered in considerable detail which includes temperature ranges, indigenous plants and animals and the major distinguishing features of each area.
Hosted by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Biological
Control Virtual Information Center
Exploring and evaluating 'biological control', this site outlines the use of natural predators in controlling insect pests.
Physical Processes (Chemistry)
Carbon-60 has interested a large proportion of the scientific establishment. This site is particularly special in that the molecule fragments are VRML, and are therefore fully animated, and can be manipulated within the brower.
An excellent site with all the information required at A-level chemistry and beyond.
Introduction to polymers.
How plastics and liquid crystals are made from individual molecules are explained by means of avirtual textbook.
Recipes, technical articles, free brewing software and clip-art.
Regular weekly news, a nuclear sites directory, factsheets, a quiz and a number of interactive calculators, including an easy-to-use carbon dioxide emissions calculator which allows users to examine the impact of different energy mixes on the greenhouse effect.
Contains the latest biochemistry news and reviews, as well as articles and links relating to microbiology and organic chemistry.
Photographs and a simple animation showing the basic idea.
Ionic and covalent bonds are explained in authoritative text and lively animations.
Take a journey through the Protein and Carbohydrate Cycles along with Captain Carbon.
Model the response of twenty five different crops to dressing with nitrogenous fertiliser.
Formation
of Addition Polymers
Introduction to the work of a forensic scientist including fingerprint, DNA and blood spatter analysis
Indiana
University Molecular Structure Centre
Light and atoms online tutorials. are available at the moment with other areas planned.
Matter, atoms, elements and reactions are covered.
Andrew
Sloley's Distillation Page
Diagrams and accompanying text in accessible language covering the general fractional distillation process and oil refining.
A good basic introduction to hydrogen.
Cautionary tales about the pollutant dihydrogen monoxide.
If you have VRML you can view more than 2000 chemical structures in 3D.
The nitrogen cycle, details of fixed nitrogen consumption, ammonia production (summary) and useful nitrogen products.
A comprehensive list of chemistry teaching resources on the internet from the Department of
Analytical Chemistry at Umea University in Sweden.
Molecular
Model for an Ideal Gas
This site contains a Java applet showing the movement of molecules in an ideal gas.
The
Learning Matters of Chemistry
Test your knowledge in interactive quizzes and games, download spinning molecules, plot graphs, find out what hazardous chemical symbols mean or search the extensive list of links.
Kinetics
for ''A'' level Chemistry.
Textbook-style resource.
Emphasising the beneficial uses to which the world puts chlorine in water treatment and the production of plastics.
Understanding
our Planet through Chemistry
A site that celebrates the beauty of chemical structures.
Lively presentation, some animated graphics explain the structure of matter.
Materials and their Properties
Information on refining, details of properties, recycling (including case histories) and the environment as well as information on health issues.
A mine of resources and substantial teaching materials. Photographs of the ores together with brief descriptions.
All you could wish to know about the production of this metal for Key Stage 4.
For ages 11 to adult this site gives explanations and demonstrations of physical concepts in real-life situations like microwaves and X-ray machines. Java applets, cartoons characters and simple language make Physics 2000 an easy site for children to follow.
(Review from Computer Active Issue 16)
The Science a Go Go site provides a daily digest of news from the world of science. An exciting and interesting site.
It's the Discovery Channel. Only it's online, you read it and look at the pictures.
Excellent resource which explains how the world works.
Probably the best UK museum site. Take a 3D tour of the Earth, Life and Wildlife galleries;explore the Quest facility that lets you investigate the natural work and use the excellent online resources to seek out information on plants, birds and butterflies.
The National Museum for Science and
Industry
This site acts as an umbrella for three museums - the Science Museum in London, Railway Museum in York and the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford.
University of Oregon Virtual
Laboratory
Wonderful Java applets - small browser applications- demonstrate physics concepts in four categories: mechanics, astrophysics, thermodynamics, and energy and environment. The applets are shown both alone and within a lesson plan. Children as young as eight will enjoy experiments like Melt the Polar Ice Cap and the Diffusion Cooler.
(Review from Computer Active Issue 16)
Dead links deleted 2nd December 2000.
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