Physical World resources

Decide if a described investigation is a fair test, and explain the decision. Assessment focus: identifying fair testing.

Task: students investigate the rolling distance of marbles on different surfaces. Assessment focus: processing information to answer a question.

Task: Identify colours and surfaces that keep things cool. Assessment focus: heat absorption.

This practical task requires students to plan a method to determine which magnet is the strongest. Students carry out their plan, record results and write a conclusion.

For this practical task students make observations about the effect of coloured lights on different coloured objects. Students then draw some conclusions about their findings.

Task: Answer a multiple choice question about the material attracted to magnets, select which magnet of four is strongest, and give a reason for choice. Assessment focus: magnetism.

Task: Predict which of three balls dropped from different heights will squash most, explain why, and design an investigation to test prediction. Assessment focus: acceleration and fair testing.

Task: Predict, observe, and explain where a piece of wood floats in a container of water and oil. Assessment focus: flotation related to density; explaining predictions.

Task: select a card to show how to control the variables of an investigation into the rolling distance of marbles on different surfaces. Assessment focus: controlling variables.

This practical task requires students to test a number of circuits and to give reasons why some of the circuits do not work while others do. Students also look at other circuits and explain what happens to the brightness of the bulb.

Students answer two multiple choice questions about fair testing in the context of static electricity.

Students first do the science activity Throwing Balloons 2 (PW2548) where they predict, observe, and explain what will happen when a balloon containing another balloon filled with water is thrown. Then the students do this writing task where they describe the balloon and what happened when it was thrown, and explain why they think it moved the way it did. Six annotated exemplars of student scripts (writing) are included under the "Working with Students" tab.

Students are given an outline of an investigation on heat loss from two different shaped objects (a cube and a sphere). They answer questions on variable control, repeat trialling, and they then graph data from this investigation.