Teachers' notes

GCSE Applied Science resource

What is the Applied Science resource?

This Applied Science resource offers a collection of practical activities relating to the Carrying out practical tasks section of GCSE Applied Science Unit 1: Developing Scientific Skills. They are designed to illustrate the importance of standard procedures in scientific work, and are appropriate whichever Awarding Body you are working with.

Each activity involves students following standard procedures, as required by the Unit Specifications.

The resource is based on a set of twelve such standard procedures – two relating to each of the six Applied Science topics:

microscopy and micro-organisms
qualitative and quantitative analysis
electrical and other physical properties

Some of the procedures contain two or more parts, covering different aspects of the same topic. All are written in a common format, similar to that of British Standards. Many are adapted from actual procedures specified in British Standards, some of which are also European (EN) and/or International (ISO) Standards. Where applicable, the original Standards are acknowledged in section 1 (Scope) of each standard procedure.

What’s in it?

The resource comprises:

About Standards - information which describes:
- the purpose and importance of British Standards;
- the function of each section of a Standard.
6 Articles - examples illustrating the importance of Standards:
- each relating to one of the six topic areas in the Specifications.
12 Standard Procedures (SP) - as described above.
12 Practice Assignments (PA) - short, straightforward activities:
- designed to develop students’ practical skills and understanding of the underlying principles;
- each involving use of one of the SPs.
6 Integrated Assignments (IA) - longer activities, set in vocational contexts:

designed to reflect realistic tasks and problems, adapted to students’ capabilities and school resources;
each involving use of several SPs for different aspects of the task;
often requiring adaptation of SPs to new applications;
could provide assessment evidence for the six practical activities required for Unit 1.

How do I use it?

The materials are designed as a ‘dip-in’ resource, using items as required, but also as a coherent whole. With a few exceptions, such as thermal conductivity, they cover all the practical tasks for Unit 1.

They provide activities in vocational contexts, using simplified procedures suitable for the majority of students, but which will challenge the more able, who are prepared to adopt a more careful approach to achieve greater accuracy.

The activities and Case Studies introduce students to the use of standard procedures closely related to those employed in the workplace – as opposed to following instructions for stock GCSE experiments with little obvious relevance to real scientific work.

The Standard Procedures are designed to be used with the assignments. However, they could be integrated individually into your own work scheme as required.
We advise that students should have ample opportunity to practise essential techniques before being assessed. The Practice Assignments provide suitable opportunities.
Integrated Assignments revisit the standard procedures in new contexts. Each covers several of the six areas required for assessment, thereby reducing the number of separate assessments.

Meeting the Specifications

Specifications for GCSE Applied Science are available on each Awarding Body’s website:

The ‘What you need to learn’ content is currently (in 2005) identical across all four, though details of assessment criteria vary somewhat. However, with the introduction of new GCSE specifications for September 2006, Applied Science will diversify, with each Awarding Body offering its own variation. Edexcel intend to discontinue GCSE Applied Science. The other three do not expect to make major changes in the science content.

It is important to appreciate that the units of Applied Science are separate for assessment purposes only. The materials in this resource cover the practical science in Unit 1, but the appropriate underlying theory in Unit 2 should be interwoven, so that the course is delivered as an integrated whole.

Unit 1 requires students to produce a portfolio of evidence, showing that they have undertaken practical investigations in each of six broad areas of science. These cover:

microscopy
- setting up and using a microscope;
- preparing and staining temporary slides;
micro-organisms
- using aseptic techniques to culture and dispose of micro-organisms safely;
- investigating the effects of antimicrobial agents;
- culturing micro-organisms to produce a useful product;
qualitative analysis
- separating mixtures by evaporation, distillation and chromatography;
- identifying ions using chemical reagents and flame tests;
quantitative analysis
- preparing standard solutions;
- carrying out titrations;
electrical properties
- investigating factors that influence resistance;
- investigating how current varies with voltage;
comparing other physical properties
- thermal conductivities;
- densities;
- strengths.

Each activity must be in a vocational context, and involve following standard procedures. All the activities offered in the resource match this requirement. As a ‘dip-in’ resource, it is not envisaged that students will undertake all the activities on offer. There is sufficient variety to enable coverage of any, or all, of the six assessment activities required for Unit 1, using various combinations of the assignments.

Each Practice Assignment targets one of the above aspects. The Integrated Assignments each involve several aspects.

PA 01: Forensic examination of hairs
PA 02: Blood cell check-up
PA 03: Checking up on milk quality
PA 04: Measuring mouthwash activity
PA 05: Is your green sweet really green?
PA 06: How do they put the colours into fireworks?
PA 07: Method for preparing a titration reagent
PA 08: A better bit of butter?
PA 09: Comparing electrical properties of metals
PA 10: Measuring changes in electrical properties - same materials
PA 11: Measuring the densities of sports equipment materials
PA 12: Paper properties: strength and impact resistance

IA1: Looking after yeast
- microscopic examination of yeast cells;
- counting cells;
- investigating the effects of storage.
IA2: Quality control in food processing
- testing to assess ripeness and crispness of fruit and vegetables;
- determining the concentration of vinegars;
- counting micro-organisms in a food product.
IA3: Soft, absorbent and strong?
- microscopic examination of paper towels and napkins;
- Measuring tensile strength
- measuring absorbency;
- investigating colourings using chromatography.
IA4: Restoration of historic monuments
- detecting salt in sand;
- determining the salt content of sand (Optional extension);
- testing the tensile strength of hair for reinforcing mortar;
- microscopic examination of fibres.
IA5: Antiseptic wipes
- comparing tensile strengths;
- testing anti-bacterial effectiveness;
- microscopic examination of the fibrous structure.
IA6: Conducting solutions
- measuring the resistance of water samples;
- investigating factors that affect resistance;
- identifying anions and cations in mineral water.

Although the Specifications divide the requirements for practical tasks into six separate areas, students should realise that, in practice, any investigation in the workplace is likely to involve several aspects of a problem. It is therefore desirable that they should tackle assignments which require them to use techniques from more than one area of science. The six Integrated Assignments provide such opportunities.

Vocational relevance

Students are required to become familiar with, and develop their skills in, a range of basic scientific techniques. They also need to understand how these are applied by working scientists, albeit with more sophisticated equipment.

GCSE Applied Science is intended to develop students' understanding of the role of scientists and others who apply science. Therefore, it is important that they have opportunities to undertake visits, and observe science in action in the workplace. To quote from the Introduction to the Specifications:

“The fundamental philosophy of this specification is that, in order to understand the nature of science, candidates must actively experience the scientific environment.”

This can be achieved through a variety of approaches, ideally including meaningful work experience placements. It is recognised that this is not feasible for all students, and for only a limited time when it is. The activities in the resource provide opportunities to carry out vocationally relevant investigations throughout the duration of Unit 1.

Students should be encouraged to work in a professional manner, taking responsibility for their own learning and organisation as far as possible. However, they still need to be taught the knowledge required to understand what they are doing and why – the principles underlying their investigations.

All aspects of Applied Science should be delivered accompanied by an appropriate rationale. The aim should be not just to teach facts, principles and skills, but to explain their importance and relevance to the public at large, and to science workers in particular. The philosophy of Applied Science is that students should come to appreciate that science is applied by people, and that they should gain an understanding of how people apply scientific principles and skills. The three main roles of scientists, and others who apply science, are:

to help to produce goods, including food;
to provide services, such as healthcare;
to undertake investigations and analyses, which enable, and ultimately improve, the work of the production and service industries.

In Unit 1 they need to appreciate that scientists use microscopic examination, chemical analysis and physical testing for two broad purposes:

investigating unknowns, to establish identity, behaviour or properties;
testing raw materials and products, to check whether they are fit for purpose.

The activities in this resource cover both categories. Teachers should ensure that students understand the purpose of their work, and how it relates to similar activities in the workplace. Other examples of similar work should be given, preferably relating to local workplaces.

In summary: Applied Science is about what scientists do, and why.

Health and Safety

Teachers must carry out their own risk assessments before attempting any of these assignments. All procedures have been independently checked for safety, and specific Health and Safety and Caution notes are given within the assignments. But as with all school activities, responsibility for health and safety remains with the school.