Used as a starter and to refer to throughout lesson. Having already met some key terms this lesson involved the wave equation, frequency etc. Laminated copies and pens available on desks as students entered the room. The cartoon provides some stretch and challenge.

A factsheet and worksheet for students to help prepare for their ISAs!

As part of an introductory course for Year 12 we look at calculations, standard form and big/small numbers. This two-lesson activity is based around Fermi problems. Firstly, there are some practical and estimating activities to encourage 'rough' calculations and confidence with big numbers. The second lesson is all about expressing numbers in standard form, gaining a sense of magnitude, and learning the prefixes met all the time in Physics (I mean the kilo, micro etc type ones).

I am using this for a starter activity for the new AQA Yr 10 Physics Energy Transfer by Heating section on Specific Heat Capacity.

Ask students to sketch displacement - time axes in their notes. You then slowly read the first story, as they draw it (don't let the students see your graph!). After revies, try the more difficult one. Reinforces or assess understanding of gradient and displacement etc. A simple but probing activity always popular with students.

Not exactly the most fascinating of topics, but here is a starter slide, or possibly plenary for a foundation group.

Designed for a G and T KS3 activity I am adapting this to use in the new AQA GCSE 'Using Energy' section. It deals specifically with the transfer of kinetic energy to grav. potential energy and applies this to exploding popcorn.The activity could be adapted for all abilities; as it stands there is a tricky calculation at the end. The card match was done first, and then students do the practical activity. We use electrical hotplates to cook the popcorn, as these are safer. You will need a dust pan and brush!

Written for the Turning Points option 5D of AQA Physics spec A this power point contains the essential features of the discovery and then sets the students tasks from the Breithaupt text book.

I designed this activity for my Foundation Yr 10 group for the AQA C 1b Chemistry spec (OEA). I taught the theory of emulsifiers, then the next lesson students chose one of the two recipes, made the mayonnaise and ate it with bread and carrot sticks. I reinforced ideas by asking which was the emulsifier ingredient etc. Having booked an IT room for the following lesson, students then completed the second task and made posters with (some!) of the relevant science. We have electric hand whisks in College, probably a must to be successful.

A common question in AQA Physics A Unit 4 is one which asks for an explanation of why a centripetal force does no work on the object moving in a circle. It is very difficult question even for top students. This 'sort them out&' activity provided a framework for students to develop their own answers after shuffling mine.

I assembled this as an intro. to the Wave Particle Duality section of Unit 5D Turning Points (AQA Spec A ). Used as a bell activity, students were asked to identify any familiar images and link ideas in to Yr 12 Unit 1.

As an intro. activity to Millikan's experiment I have designed this simple experiment which recaps terminal velocity and introduces Millikan's ideas. Because my Year 13 students still lack confidence with uncertainties with one ISA left to go (!) this activity also gives them practice at estimating errors and combining them. We used glass measuring cylinders (50 ml), glycerol (but veg oil works well) and tiny glass beads.

Handed out towards the end on AQA Physics A Unit 2 Waves section to get a dialogue going.

Written for AQA Physics A Turning Points Option 5D this is a short power point summarising the Maxwell Equation with a short activity at the end.

Designed for an able Year 10 group after they had covered efficiency, this practical uses mounted 4V d.c. motors and mounted cable drum wheels lifting a load. The worksheet explains what to measure and calculate after a short introduction by the teacher. I chose to encourage students to sketch a graph rather than plot.

A Triple Physics or Stretch and Challenge activity. Students prepare outside of class by watching a Khan Academy video. They then use stomp rockets (cheap and easily obtained off the web) to collect data which can be processed to find the launch speed of the rockets. My Yr 11 students loved it.

Designed to fill the gap between the Year 12 exams and beginning of the A2 work, this task uses one of Melvyn Bragg's In Our Time programmes as a stem for independent work. You can download the programme from the link given (we have put ours on the VLE) and the two documents can be adapted as you please. We have tried this successfully with Newton&'s Laws in the past and students created high quality work rather different to the diet of past questions and revision they have become used to...