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Sphero slalom lesson

In this lesson students explore slalom sports and how competitors maximise speed when completing a course. Students research different slalom sports and then share their findings with the class. Students investigate the impact of distance and friction on time to complete a course through digital and unplugged activities. ...

Interactive

Waste and materials – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This resource guides students through an extended school-based or local investigation focussed on waste and materials using the five-step sustainability action process. The resource supports the investigation of a real-world issue or problem. Students develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate ...

Text

ACMF: Effects of selective breeding

This resource is a web page providing information about an experiment on the growth rate of different chicken breeds carried out by students at James Ruse Agricultural High School in NSW, which shows the influence of selective breeding on chicken weight. It includes a side-by-side column graph comparing the weight of egg ...

Interactive

Kitchen gardens – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This resource guides students through an extended school-based or local investigation focussed on kitchen gardens using the five-step sustainability action process. The resource supports the investigation of a real-world issue or problem. Students develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate and ...

Downloadable

Solar still activity

In this activity students create a solar still and use a predict-observe-explain strategy to investigate how coloured salty water transforms into clear unsalted water. This activity is useful for exploring changes of state (evaporation and condensation) and water cycles.

Downloadable

Water is special

In this lesson sequence, students explore what water is and how it behaves as it changes from ice to liquid water to water vapour. The purpose of this lesson sequence is to give students a mental picture of water molecules. Learning about how these molecules behave when water is heated and cooled can help them to understand ...

Downloadable

Unit for Year 5 to 6 Butterflies: Engaging with nature

This unit of work engages students in preparing butterfly gardens in their schoolgrounds. It explores scientific entomology, features of insects (including butterflies), the contributions that butterflies make to a healthy environments, and the characteristics of butterfly gardens. The unit includes worksheets, assessment ...

Downloadable

Walking on Crushed Glass

This is an illustrated story of a real-life engineering solution designed to recycle glass waste and reuse it as reinforcement for concrete used in footpaths. The book explains the process of innovation to reach a viable solution. It shows the creativity, innovation and collaboration required to provide a solution that ...

Downloadable

Why is water sticky?

In this lesson sequence, students use a range of hands-on activities to explore what water is and how it behaves as it changes from ice to liquid water to water vapour. They explore the structure of water molecules and how these molecules behave when water is heated and cooled to help them to understand how the water cycle works.

Interactive

Racing game with one die

This is an interactive game that investigates probability by simulating a two-car race, in which the movements of the cars are based on the roll of a die. Cars advance when certain numbers are rolled, and the student can experiment with probability by selecting which car moves forward for a given outcome of the roll of ...

Interactive

Experimental probability

This is an interactive resource that enables students to conduct virtual probability experiments using a spinner or a pair of dice. The student can manipulate the relative sizes of the different coloured segments of the spinner or the numbers on the faces of the dice to investigate the effect of these changes on probability. ...

Interactive

Spinner

This is an interactive resource that investigates experimental and theoretical probability based on a spinner. The student can select the number of segments on the spinner and simulate spinning the spinner with a mouse click. The outcome of each trial is recorded in a table along with a comparison between the cumulative ...

Video

Catalyst: Probability and the gambler's fallacy

Mathematician Lily Serna visits Luna Park to explain a great probability pitfall. She shares a century-old tale from Monte Carlo casino, and then she puts its lesson to the test. If you flip a coin and it lands on heads three times in a row, what result would you predict for the next flip? Find out why intuition might land ...

Video

Catalyst: Probability and the birthday paradox

Even when a maths problem seems simple – for example, the chance of two people sharing a birthday – the maths can run counter to our human intuition. Mathematician Lily Serna poses a maths problem to the Clovelly Bowling Club: how many people do you need to gather to get a 50 per cent chance of any two people in that group ...

Video

Catalyst: Supercapacitors: new battery technology

Discover how nanotechnology is contributing to the creation of new, improved batteries that may soon be used in all our mobile phones and portable music devices - even in cars and trams. Catalyst's Tanya Ha looks at how traditional batteries produce electricity and how their efficiency may be increased by tiny devices known ...

Video

Four Corners: Fire management strategies

What role do fire-behaviour specialists and ecologists have in fire management? Watch this clip to find out about issues relating to fire management in Australia, in particular prescribed burning.

Video

Elliot and the Surfing Scientist: Properties and behaviour of gases

All substances are made up of tiny particles. A change in temperature can change the way these particles behave. Watch as the Surfing Scientist demonstrates how a gas behaves when it is heated. Find out whether the balloon gets sucked or pushed into the bottle!

Video

Four Corners: Ecological effects of bushfires

Did you know that Australia is the most flammable continent on Earth? Watch this clip to discover how bushfires impact natural ecosystems, and how the increasing global threat of bushfires may affect Australia. Australian scientists explain the ecological consequences of fire and a US expert describes his concerns for the future.

Video

Catalyst: Predicting earthquakes

Will scientists ever be able to accurately predict earthquakes? Imagine the number of lives that could be saved if this were possible. Dr Maryanne Demasi joins a group of researchers drilling into one of the most earthquake-prone regions on Earth as they try to improve earthquake prediction to add precious seconds to earthquake ...

Video

Catalyst: Penguin wave better than a group hug!

Emperor penguins form a big, tightly packed huddle to keep warm in Antarctica, the coldest and windiest continent on Earth. But how do the ones on the outside of the huddle keep warm? Find out about a clever way of ensuring that no penguin is left out in the cold.