Physical inquiry resources

Task: Make a sound gun and use it to investigate what happens to a candle when the end of the sound gun is tapped. Assessment focus: sound waves.

Students carry out and make observations about water in a straw, and suction. Students are then required to explain their observations.

Students describe the images seen in flat and convex mirrors.

Students investigate energy transfer by colliding marbles, explaining their observations, and what happens to the energy of the moving marble on impact.

For this practical task students investigate convection currents when tea leaves are placed into a beaker of water that is being heated. They are asked to make observations and to provide an explanation of what they have observed.

Task: Predict, observe and explain what will happen when a balloon containing another balloon filled with water is thrown. Assessment focus: making and explaining predictions and observations.

Task: Predict, observe and explain what will happen when a balloon containing another balloon filled with water is thrown. Assessment focus: making and explaining predictions and observations.

Task: Predict, observe and explain what will happen when a balloon containing another balloon filled with water is thrown. Assessment focus: making and explaining predictions and observations.

Students carry out a simple experiment with static electricity and then explain their findings.

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

Task: Select the most suitable thermometer to use for different purposes and answer two questions about scale. Assessment focus: making measurements decisions.

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 the relationship between mass and stretch. Assessment focus: graph interpretation.

Task: investigate reflection of light using a torch and mirror. Assessment focus: angle of reflection.

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.

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

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.

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

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: 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.

Students design a low energy house.

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