Energy resources

Students carry out a simple experiment to illustrate refraction. They then explain why this happened.

Students are given an experimental setup of heating water with a burning peanut and are asked how they could change this in three ways to get a greater temperature increase. Students are also asked to give two important experimental conditions that should remain the same if the experiment was repeated.

For this practical task students write a plan to find out if a microwave has a 'hot spot'. Students carry out their plan, collect, and interpret results.

This practical task is about heat absorption. From a given list students choose the equipment they would use to heat cold tap water as much as possible. Students complete the investigation, explain why each piece of equipment was selected, and record their results.

Task: Interpret data from tables. Assessment focus: data interpretation.

Task: Answer questions about a table comparing the energy usage and lifespan of different sorts of lights, and use this information to complete a second table to describe advantages and disadvantages of each. Assessment focus: reading a technical table.

Task: Answer questions about what happens to the light form a torch. Assessment focus: light.

Task: Answer a multiple choice questions about what would be seen on earth if a meteor hit the moon, and explain why that answer is correct. Assessment focus: how sound and light travel.

Task: Answer questions about recycling aluminium by interpreting a fact file. Assessment focus: Recycling.

Students identify where heat is lost from a house, explain ways to reduce heat loss and suggest ways to reduce heat loss.

Students design a low energy house.

Task: Using statements from four people decide and justify whether or not each person supports wind farms. Identify which person has a misconception about wind farms, giving a reason. Assessment focus: identifying different perspectives.

Task: Discuss opinions, presented as a concept cartoon, about why a toy car rolled down a slope eventually stops and develop group explanation. Assessment focus: explanations

Task: Identify examples of experiencing sound. Assessment focus: sound.

Task: Identify direction of currents and explain reason for pattern. Assessment focus: convection patterns.

Task: Complete a table to show how energy is transformed in eight objects and describe the energy transformations in two others. Assessment focus: energy transformation.

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 are provided with a diagram of a bag used in solar showers. They answer questions about this bag relating to heat absorption, heat transfer, and radiation.

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.

Task: Match terms with definition. Assessment focus: science vocabulary.

Students are asked to match six everyday objects to the main energy transformation that occurs in each of these objects.