Year 10/11 Science
READING TASKS
Year 10 - Perfect People
Perfect People by Peter James
This is a sci-fi thriller about eugenics, following a couple trying to have a healthy baby. After the death of their four-year-old son from a rare genetic disorder, they are desperate to avoid going through the pain of losing another child, and visit a clinic. For a fee, they can choose all the genes of their child – literally have a designer baby. However, they don’t want half the choices on offer, they just want a healthy child.
Year 10 - Bad Science
Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks and Big Pharma Flacks by Ben Goldacre
Ben Goldacre masterfully dismantles the dubious science behind some of the great drug trials, court cases, and missed opportunities of our time. He also shows us the fascinating story of how we know what we know, and gives us the tools to uncover bad science for ourselves.
Year 10 - What is your cat really thinking?
What is your cat really thinking? by Sophie Johson and Danny Cameron
When you look into the enigmatic eyes of your beloved cat, it can be hard to know just what on earth is going through their curious minds. After intensive research and cat-psychology study, the authors have cracked the kitty code and can now reveal all the secrets of the moggy world.
Year 11 - Brave New World
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
This outstanding work of literature is more crucial and relevant today than ever before. Cloning, feel-good drugs, anti-aging programs, and total social control through politics, programming, and media: has Aldous Huxley accurately predicted our future? With a storyteller's genius, he weaves these ethical controversies in a compelling narrative.
Year 11 - What if?
What If?: Serious Scientific Answer to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe
From the creator of the wildly popular xkcd.com, this book offers hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask.
Year 11 - A million things to ask a neuroscientist
A million things to ask a neuroscientist by Mike Tranter
This book makes the brain fun and easy to enjoy. Anyone who is curious about what really goes on in that mushy pink thing inside their head will enjoy this guide to the brain and neuroscience.
Year 11 - Immune
Immune: A Journey Into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive by Philipp Dettmer
The author takes readers on a journey through the fortress of the human body and its defences. There is a constant battle of staggering scale raging within us, full of stories of invasion, strategy, defeat, and noble self-sacrifice.
WRITING TASKS
Year 10
Write a newspaper article to explain how photosynthesis was the chemical reaction that led to animal life being able to possible.
Year 11
Write a bid to fund some medical research of your choice to prospective donors, whom you need to persuade to contribute a large amount money to assist your project.
LISTENING TASKS
Year 10 - Flash Forward
Flash forward - apple podcasts on the bizarre and wonderful questions you've always wanted to ask.
It is a show about possible (and not so possible) future scenarios. What would the warranty on a sex robot look like? How would diplomacy work if we couldn’t lie? Could there ever be a fecal transplant black market?
Year 11 - Podcast
Transistor podcast - STEM podcast from PRX.
Three scientist hosts — a biologist, an astrophysicist, and a neuroscientist report on conundrums, curiosities, and current events in and beyond their fields.
WATCHING TASKS
Year 10 - Crash Course
- Biology
- Chemistry
- & Physics playlists
Year 11 - Green Planet
BBC - Green planet
Dive into a world where a single life can last a thousand years, with David Attenborough. See things no eye has ever seen, and discover the dramatic, beautiful plant life of Earth.
Year 11 - My Octopus Teacher
Netflix
A filmmaker forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world.
Year 11 - Hack Your Health - Secrets of the Gut
Netflix
Delve into the digestive system with this lighthearted and informative documentary that demystifies the role gut health plays in our overall well-being.
Year 11 - From Ice to Fire: The incredible Science of Temperature
BBC iplayer
Physicist Dr Helen Czerski explores the narrow band of temperature that has led to life on Earth. She reveals how life began in a dramatic place where hot meets cold, and how every single living creature on Earth depends on temperature for its survival.
RESEARCH TASKS
Year 10 - Covid 19
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on the world but it has also led to many advances in research into viral diseases as scientists all over the world have collaborated in order to help reduce fatalities.
Research the medical advances that have occurred because of the pandemic and how this could benefit future generations.
Year 11 - Summer School
Imperial College summer school - keep a lookout on their website.
Attending summer school is a great way to discover what it is like to study at Imperial and what life is like as a student in London.
TRIPS AND VISITS
Year 10 - Kew Gardens
Royal botanic gardens at Kew gardens, London
Plants and fungi are vital to the future of food, clean air and medicine. We’re fighting against biodiversity loss to save life on Earth.
Year 11 - Royal Observatory
Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London
Visit the home of Greenwich Mean Time and stand on the world-famous Prime Meridian Line.
Year 11 - The Living Rainforest
The Living Rainforest Reading
The centre is home to over 850 species of plants and animals, including rare and endangered species of global conservation value.
CREATIVE TASKS
Year 10 - Biology
Create a comic strip on how vaccinations work.
Year 10 - Physics
Create your own podcast on an area of physics you are interested in.
Year 10 - Chemistry
Make a labelled model atom showing the correct number of subatomic particles for the element you choose. Including labels.
Year 11 - Biology
Creative a virtual tour of the human digestive system using minecraft or similar app.
Year 11 - Physics
Make a genetic sequence bracelet (your genome).
STUDENT LED TASKS
Year 11 - Wellcome Trust
Creative activities inspired by the wellcome trust collection.
Year 11 - Career idea
Interested in becoming a medic? take a look at this website for info on volunteering and exams.
