The table below sets out how the activities in this centre fit with the National Curriculum, the OCR Applied Science GSCE specification and with the QCA Schemes of Work. Clicking the in the Key Stage columns leads to a second table detailing exactly the activity supports the National Curriculum. As well as helping to teach the properties of materials, an important purpose of the Virtual Activity Centre is to provide a valuable ICT resource. ICT is an integral and essential part of teaching science and Design and Technology. It helps learners to build on and test their own understanding as required by the curriculum.

Each activity also includes its own For teachers section which provides background information and teaching suggestions specific to that particular activity.

Activity	National Curriculum				OCR Applied Science GSCE	QCA Schemes of Work
Activity	KS 1	KS 2	KS 3	KS 4	OCR Applied Science GSCE	QCA Schemes of Work
Heat conduction					6.2.5 Investigating materials	Unit 4C: Keeping warm Science at key stage 3 Section 8l
Electrical conduction					6.2.5 Investigating materials 7.2.3 Materials for making things	Unit 2F: Using electricity Unit 6G: Changing circuits (short unit) Science at key stage 3 Sections 7j, 9l
Electric circuits					None	Unit 2F: Using electricity Unit 6G: Changing circuits (short unit) Science at key stage 3 Sections 7j, 9l
Electromagnets					None	Unit 3E: Magnets and springs Unit 1C: Sorting and using materials Science at key stage 3 Section 8j
Permanent magnets					None	Unit 3E: Magnets and springs Unit 1C: Sorting and using materials Science at key stage 3 Section 8j
Corrosion					7.2.3 Materials for making things	Science at key stage 3 Sections 9e, 9f
Bendiness					6.2.5 Investigating materials	Unit 2E: Forces and movement Unit 2D: Grouping and changing materials Science at key stage 3 Sections 7k, [Design & Tech 8a(ii), 9a(ii)]
Stretchiness					6.2.5 Investigating materials	Unit 2E: Forces and movement Unit 3C: Characteristics of materials Unit 3E: Magnets and springs Unit 2D: Grouping and changing materials Science at key stage 3 Sections 7k, [Design & Tech 8a(ii), 9a(ii)]
Solids,liquids and gases					7.2.3 Materials for making things	Unit 2D: Grouping and changing materials Unit 5D: Changing state Unit 5C: Gases around us Unit 6D: Reversible and irreversible changes (short unit) Science at key stage 3 Sections 8l, 7g

Key stage 1

Sc1	Scientific enquiry
Investigative skills
2	Pupils should be taught to:
	d	recognise when a test or comparison is unfair	Stretchiness
	g	communicate what happened in a variety of ways including ICT [for example in speech and writing, by drawings, tables block graphs and pictograms]	Stretchiness
Sc3	Materials and their properties
Grouping materials
1	Pupils should be taught to:
	a	use their senses to explore and recognise the similarities and differences between materials	Bendiness
	b	sort objects into groups on the basis of simple material properties [for example roughness, hardness, shininess, ability to float, transparency and whether they are magnetic or non-magnetic]	Bendiness Permanent magnets
	d	find out about the uses of a variety of materials [for example glass, wood, wool] and how these are chosen for specific uses on the basis of their simple properties	Bendiness
	e	recognise differences between solids, liquids and gases, in terms of ease of flow and maintenance of shape and volume.	Solids, liquids and gases
Changing materials
1	Pupils should be taught to:
	a	find out how the shapes of objects made from some materials can be changed by some processes including squashing, bending, twisting and stretching	Bendiness
	a	find out how the shapes of objects made from some materials can be changed by some processes including squashing, bending, twisting and stretching	Bendiness
2	Pupils should be taught to:
	b	explore and describe the way some everyday materials (eg water, chocolate, bread, clay) change when they are heated or cooled.	Solids, liquids and gases

Sc4	Physical processes
Electricity
1	Pupils should be taught:
	a	about everyday appliances that use electricity	Electrical conduction Electric circuits
	b	about simple series circuits involving batteries, wires, bulbs and other components [for example buzzers, motors]	Electrical conduction Electric circuits
	c	how a switch can be used to break a circuit	Electrical conduction Electric circuits
Forces and motion
1	Pupils should be taught:
	b	that both pushes and pulls are examples of forces	Bendiness Stretchiness

Key stage 2

Sc1	Scientific enquiry
Investigative skills
2	Pupils should be taught:
	d	make a fair test or comparison by changing one factor and observing or measuring the effect while keeping other factors the same	Stretchiness
	h	use a wide range of methods, including diagrams, drawings, tables, bar charts, line graphs, and ICT, to communicate data in an appropriate and systematic manner	Stretchiness
Sc3	Materials and their properties
Grouping and classifying materials
1	Pupils should be taught:
	a	to compare everyday materials and objects on the basis of their material properties including hardness, strength, flexibility and magnetic behaviour, and relate these properties to everyday uses of the materials	Bendiness Permanent magnets
	c	that some materials are better electrical conductors than others	Electrical conduction
	e	recognise differences between solids, liquids and gases, in terms of ease of flow and maintenance of shape and volume.	Solids, liquids and gases
Changing materials
2	Pupils should be taught:
	b	changes that occur when materials (eg water, clay, dough) are heated or cooled	Solids, liquids and gases
	c	that temperature is a measure of how hot things are	Solids, liquids and gases
Sc4	Physical processes
Electricity
1	Pupils should be taught:
		Simple circuits
	a	to construct circuits incorporating a battery or power supply and a range of switches to make electrical devices work	Electrical conduction Electric circuits
	b	how changing the number or type of components [for example batteries, bulbs, wires] in a circuit can make bulbs brighter or dimmer	Electrical conduction Electric circuits
	c	how to represent series circuits by drawings and conventional symbols and how to construct series circuits on the basis of drawings and diagrams using conventional symbols	Electrical conduction Electric circuits
Forces and motion
2	Pupils should be taught:
		Types of force
	a	about forces of attraction and repulsion between magnets and about the forces of attraction between magnets and magnetic materials	Electromagnets
	b	that objects are pulled downwards because of the gravitational attraction between them and the Earth	Bendiness Stretchiness
	d	that when objects [for example a spring, a table] are pushed or pulled an opposing push or pull can be felt	Stretchiness

Key stage 3

Sc1	Scientific enquiry
Investigative skills
2	Pupils should be taught to:
	i	use a wide range of methods, including diagrams, tables, charts, graphs and ICT to represent and communicate qualitative and quantitative data	Stretchiness
Sc3	Materials and their properties

Patterns of behaviour
1	Pupils should be taught:
		Solids, liquids and gases
	a	how materials can be characterised by melting point, boiling point and density	Solids, liquids and gases
	b	how the particle theory of matter can be used to explain the properties of solids, liquid and gases, including changes of state, gas pressure and diffusion	Solids, liquids and gases
3	Pupils should be taught:
		Metals
	a	how metals react with oxygen, water, acids, and oxides of other metals and what the products of these reactions are	Corrosion
	c	how a reactivity series of metals can be determined by considering these reactions and used to make predictions about other reactions	Corrosion
		Acids and bases
	e	how metals and bases, including carbonates, react with acids and what the products of these reactions are	Corrosion
	g	how acids in the environment can lead to corrosion of some metals and chemical weathering of rock	Corrosion
	h	identify patterns in chemical reactions	Corrosion
Classifying material
1	Pupils should be taught:
		Elements compounds and mixtures
	d	How elements vary in their physical properties including appearance, state at room temperature, magnetic properties, and thermal and electrical conductivity, and how these properties can be used to classify elements as metals and non-metals.	Heat conduction Electrical conduction
Sc4	Physical processes
Electricity and magnetism
1	Pupils should be taught:
		Magnetic fields
	d	about magnetic fields as regions of space where magnetic materials experience forces, and that like magnetic poles repel and that unlike magnetic poles attract	Electromagnets Permanent magnets
		Magnetic fields
	e	that a current in a coil produces a magnetic field similar to that of a bar magnet	Electromagnets
	f	how electromagnets are constructed and used in devices (for example relays, lifting magnets)	Electromagnets
		Circuits
	a	how to design and construct series and parallel circuits, and how to measure current and voltage	Electric circuits
	b	that the current in a series circuit depends on the number of cells and the number and nature of other components and that the current is not �used up� by components	Electrical conduction Electric circuits
	c	that energy is transferred from batteries and other sources to other components in electrical circuits	Electric circuits
Energy resources and energy transfer
5	Pupils should be taught:
		Conservation of energy
	d	The distinction between temperature and heat and that differences in temperature can lead to transfer of energy.	Heat conduction
	e	Ways in which energy can be usefully transferred and stored.	Heat conduction
	f	How energy is transferred by the movement of particles in conduction, convection and evaporation, and that energy is transferred directly by radiation.	Heat conduction

Key stage 4

Sc3	Materials and their properties
Patterns of behaviour
1	Pupils should be taught:
		Chemical reactions
	k	about different types of chemical reaction, including neutralisation, oxidation, reduction and thermal decomposition, and examples of how these are used to make new materials	Corrosion
	l	to recognise patterns in chemical reactions and use these to make predictions about ways in which knowledge about chemical reactions is applied when new substances are made	Corrosion
		Rates of reaction
	n	about the great variation in the rates at which different reactions take place	Corrosion
	o	how the rates of reactions can be altered by varying temperature or concentration, or by changing the surface area of a solid reactant, or by adding a catalyst	Corrosion
Sc4	Physical processes
Energy resources and energy transfer
5	Pupils should be taught:
		Energy transfer
	a	How insulation is used to reduce transfer of energy from hotter to colder objects.	Heat conduction
Electricity
1	Pupils should be taught:
		Circuits
	a	that resistors are heated when charge flows through them	Electric circuits
	b	the qualitative effect of changing resistance on the current in a circuit	Electrical conduction Electric circuits
	c	the quantitative relationship between resistance, voltage and current	Electric circuits
	d	how current varies with voltage in a range of devices [for example, resistors, filament bulbs, diodes, light dependent resistors (LDRs) and thermistors]	Electric circuits
	e	that voltage is the energy transferred per unit charge	Electric circuits
	f	the quantitative relationship between power, voltage and current	Electric circuits