Technicians’ lists of equipment
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Catalyst 3, Unit I: Energy
and electricity
Lesson I1: Make it work
Starter activities
Problem solving
 one calculator per group
Capture interest
 wind-up alarm clock
 food (could be a large breakfast cereal box)
 Bunsen burner (lit)
 magnesium ribbon and tongs
Main activities
I1a Energy transfers
Four sets of:
 a kettle of water, recently boiled
 a whistle and disinfectant
 a circuit to light a lamp
 a ball
 a clockwork toy
Plenary activities
Looking ahead
 battery (e.g. two 1.5 V batteries in a holder) or power supply
 two lamps in holders
 connecting leads
 switch
 a voltmeter (same as pupils will be using next lesson)
Lesson I2: Energy in and out
Starter activities
Problem solving
 a tray for each group of two
 cells in holders
 switch
 ammeter
 two lamps and
 six connecting wires
This list is in Microsoft Word, so it can be customised to fit each school’s requirements.
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Technicians’ lists of equipment
Downloaded from www.catalystscience.co.uk
Catalyst 3, Unit I: Energy
and electricity
Capture interest (1)
Tray 1:
 a 13 A mains plug
 light switch
 socket
 fuses and connecting cables (three-core cable)
 maybe an item with a warning about getting a qualified electrician
Tray 2:
 batteries in holders
 lamps
 connecting leads
 different types of connector and crocodile clips
 switches, etc.
Main activities
I2a Investigating voltage: Batteries
For each pair or group:
 five batteries
 lamp (12 V)
 voltmeter
 eight leads
I2b Investigating voltage: Components
 a battery
 two lamps
 a voltmeter
 six leads
Plenary activities
Looking ahead
 Examples of batteries: e.g. alkaline, lithium; rechargeable batteries:
e.g. car battery (lead acid), nickel cadmium (NiCD) and metal hydride
Battery demonstration:
 a piece of zinc and a piece of copper in a glass beaker of dilute hydrochloric acid, each piece
connected to one terminal of a voltmeter
This list is in Microsoft Word, so it can be customised to fit each school’s requirements.
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Technicians’ lists of equipment
Downloaded from www.catalystscience.co.uk
Catalyst 3, Unit I: Energy
and electricity
Lesson I2 Investigate: How to increase the voltage in a fruit cell
Starter activities
Setting the context
 lead acid car battery
 universal indicator paper
 voltmeter
 potato or fruit cell clock
 voltmeter
Introduce the apparatus
 one set of the equipment for Activity I2d (see Technician sheet for I2d)
Main activities
I2d Investigate: How to increase the voltage in a fruit cell
For each group
 lemons, potatoes, apples, oranges or other similar fruits or vegetables (lemon juice or
vinegar could be used instead)
 pieces of metal of the same size and shape: magnesium, aluminium, zinc, iron, lead, copper
 voltmeter
 connecting leads with crocodile clips
 ruler
 scalpel or craft knife with guard
Lesson I3: Using electricity
Main activities
I3a Using electricity
For each group (if available)
 joulemeter
 stopwatch
 electrical appliances
Plenary activities
Sharing responses
 calculators
This list is in Microsoft Word, so it can be customised to fit each school’s requirements.
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Technicians’ lists of equipment
Downloaded from www.catalystscience.co.uk
Catalyst 3, Unit I: Energy
and electricity
Lesson I4: Power stations
Main activities
I4a Inside a power station
For the teacher demonstration:
Turning a turbine
 Bunsen burner, tripod, mat and gauze
 conical flask with bung and glass nozzle as shown
 small fan
Lighting a lamp
 dynamo as shown in diagram
I4b Comparing power stations
 books or leaflets on all types of power generation
 access to the Internet
Plenary activities
Review learning
For a Teacher demonstration:
 model steam engine which runs on tablet fuel (e.g. Mamod)
 tablet fuel
 tap water will do but distilled water is better if available
This list is in Microsoft Word, so it can be customised to fit each school’s requirements.
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