Investigating in science resources

Students interpret a table of data in order to answer four questions on the properties of five different types of paper.

Task: Create, use and identify ‘rules’ based on observable and/or measurable physical properties of common plastics. Assessment focus: classifying & identifying.

Task: Describe and compare some physical properties of plastic objects and identify the properties scientists might use for classifying materials. Assessment focus: classifying using physical properties.

Students view four sequential diagrams on fossilisation, and then write explanations about this process using the diagrams and their own knowledge.

Task: Use written text and pictures to explain how the special features of Old Man's Beard help it survive. Assessment focus: identifying how the special features help this plant to survive.

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.

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.

Task: Students differentiate between simple observations and inferences, and between observations that require measurement and those that do not. Assessment focus: observing scientifically.

For this practical task students investigate and report on what they noticed about a model river and how different sized materials are moved by the water.

This task requires students to determine the best way to dissolve Milo the quickest. Students are given the opportunity to determine this by trial and error, then they are asked to write up their result and a conclusion.

Students are given some solids and liquids for this practical task. They plan how they would find out which liquids are solvents for any given solid, carry out the task, and write a conclusion.

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

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.

Students describe the images seen in flat and convex mirrors.

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: 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.

This practical task assesses students' ability to design and carry out a fair test on the relationship between slope and rates of erosion.

Students first do the science activity Throwing balloons 3 or Throwing balloons 4 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 resource's writing task where they describe the balloon and what happens when it is 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.

This practical task requires students to follow an experimental design that investigates various forms of insulation. They are required to gather results, make a conclusion, and identify the variables.

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

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.

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

This practical task requires students to record temperatures of various areas in the school and to suggest reasons why some areas are warmer or cooler than others.

Students view an online animation which illustrates stages of a volcanic eruption, write their observations and answer question about eruptions. Assessment focus: observations based on a model, and knowledge of volcanic eruptions.