Harnessing energy from the tides is a much-promoted but rarely realised way of generating electricity. This article examines some of the systems that are currently in use or under development, and outlines their economic, environmental and technical implications.

A three-year project aimed at embedding seismology into schools in northern England to support the teaching of the earth science strands in the National Curriculum for England and Wales is described. Seismometers were deployed in a range of high schools across the Yorkshire and Humberside region. Deployment was supported by a programme of staff…

This quantitative research study reports the effectiveness of demonstrations supported by appropriate information and communication technology (ICT) tools such as dataloggers, animations and video clips on upper secondary school students' attitudes towards the learning of physics. A sample of 94 secondary four express stream (age 16 years)…

A suitable way for teachers to present science content and foster creativity in less academically inclined students is by getting them to engage in design-based science activities and guiding them along the way. This study illustrates how a design-and-make activity was carried out with the aim of getting students to showcase their creativity while…

The physics curriculum is usually defined by content but this does not provide students with an authentic experience of the subject. An alternative is that physics is defined more as a way of thinking and this idea is explored in terms of the purposes of physics education, assessment and the relationship of the subject with other disciplines. A…

The National Curriculum for England has been revised and the statements on energy have some new phrasing and some new ideas. In this article, I will reflect on how these changes might be beneficial, relieving some of the strictures of previous drafts and providing opportunities to talk about energy in new, more constructive ways. I will discuss…

The energy concept is one of the most important ideas for students to understand. Looking at phenomena through the lens of energy provides powerful tools to model, analyse and predict phenomena in the scientific disciplines. The cross-disciplinary nature of the energy concept enables students to look at phenomena from different angles, helping…

The historical background to the laws of thermodynamics is explained using examples we can all observe in the world around us, focusing on motorised transport, refrigeration and solar heating. This is not to be considered as an academic article. The purpose is to improve understanding of thermodynamics rather than impart new knowledge, and for…

There is growing interest in the use of low enthalpy geothermal (LEG) energy schemes, whereby heated water is extracted from sandstone aquifers for civic heating projects. While prevalent in countries with volcanic activity, a recently proposed scheme for Manchester offered the perfect opportunity to engage students in the viability of this form…

Two major sessions at the 2013 ASE Summer Celebration Conference in Hatfield offered teachers (and other educators) the chance to debate and define the key issues facing science education over the next 10 years. Participants were asked to suggest the important issues. Then those with similar proposals were put into groups to develop the idea ready…

A recent Government response to shortages of new physics and chemistry teachers is the extended subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) course. Graduates without a physics or chemistry bachelor degree are prepared by an SKE course to enter a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme to become science teachers with a physics or chemistry…

When you dive underwater, you feel the pressure on your ears and, as you dive deeper, more pressure is felt. This article presents an activity that teachers might find useful for demonstrating the relationship between water depth and pressure. (Contains 5 figures and 1 table.)

Foams or bubble dispersions are common to milkshakes, bread, champagne froth, shaving mousse, shampoo, crude oil extraction systems, upholstery packing and bubble wrap, whereas the term droplet is often synonymous with either a small drop of water or a drop of oil--a type of coarse dispersion. The latter are seen in butter and milk, household…

Gravity is an intangible abstract force when considered theoretically and yet we are affected by it constantly. The apparently "strong" nature of gravity, which in the layperson's mind causes him or her to stick to the Earth, is belied by the fact that it is the weakest of the fundamental forces. Demonstrations that allow pupils,…

This "Science Note" explores the new adaptation of Newton's Second Law of Motion, "F = ma." In older physics and applied mathematics textbooks this expression appears as "P = mf." The author examines why "f" is now favored over "a" and why practitioners write "P = mf" rather than…