Secondary project briefs (ages 11+)


Bronze Awards are typically completed by students aged 11+. They complete a ten-hour project which is a perfect introduction to STEM project work. Over the course of the project, teams of students design their own investigation, record their findings, and reflect on their learnings. This process gives students a taste of what it is like to be a scientist or engineer in the real-world.


Silver Awards are typically completed by students aged 14+ over thirty hours. Project work at Silver level is designed to stretch your students and enrich their STEM studies. Students direct the project, determining the project’s aim and how they will achieve it. They carry out the project, record and analyse their results and reflect on the project and their learnings. All Silver projects are assessed by CREST assessors via our online platform.


Gold Awards are typically completed by students aged 16+ over seventy hours. Students’ projects are self-directed, longer term and immerse them in real research. At this level, we recommend students work with a mentor from their chosen STEM field of study. All Gold projects are assessed by CREST assessors via our online platform. There are more CREST approved resources that have been developed by our partners and providers specific to your region.


There are more CREST approved resources that have been developed by our partners and providers specific to your region.


Find out how to build practical CREST projects into secondary science lessons using our free teacher guidance pack. Supporting this guidance are easy-to-use, free-to-download mapping workbooks, which match individual Bronze, Silver and Gold CREST Award projects with each area of the secondary science curricula for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. You can download and save your own copy of the relevant mapping workbook via the following links:


England

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Wales


To browse the briefs, click the buttons below or scroll down.

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5 years ago

Why do we use shampoo

Compare shop bought shampoo to alternative liquid cleaning products. This resource is published under an Attribution - non-commercial - no derivatives 4.0 International creative commons licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). For more information visit our Terms and Conditions (www.crestawards.org/terms-and-conditions).

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Page 1 of 2 Why do we use shampoo? There are lots of different liquids that we use to clean things. In this project, you can do some experiments to see why we use shampoo to wash our hair. You will compare three different types of liquid cleaning product – shampoo, liquid soap and washing-up liquid (you could choose other products as well, if you like). Getting Started Collect samples of human hair to use in your experiment. See notes in things to think about. You will also need three liquid cleaning products to test. These could be shampoo, liquid hand soap and washing up liquid. Look at the hairs under a microscope. Describe, draw or photograph what you see. What can the microscope show you that you can’t see with your eye? Does the tip look different to the root? Can you see anything on the side of the hair? Is there a dark line running through the middle? Survey your friends or family about the hair cleaning products they use. Ask them if they think washed hair looks different - if they just say “yes”, ask them how! Wash your hair samples in the three different cleaning products. Dry them and look at them again under the microscope. Describe, draw or photograph what you see. Remember, this needs to be a fair test, so you should think about controlling a number of things such as Click to edit project the amount description of cleaner, the temperature of the water and the way they are dried. How did the hair samples change when washed with (a) shampoo (b) liquid soap (c) washing-up liquid? Did the hair samples feel any different? To extend your investigation, you could measure the pH value of each cleaners and compare this to the results from your experiment. Things to think about Before you get your hair samples, think about: • How will you get the hair samples? Will they be cut hairs, or hairs that have been carefully pulled out? • How many hairs from one person should you look at? • How many hairs make one sample? Useful Resources Try shampoos for different hair: antidandruff shampoo, shampoo for dry hair, shampoo for greasy hair, organic shampoo

Bronze level

Ten hour projects recommended for ages 11+. Find out more about this level and how to gain a CREST Award on the Bronze Awards page.


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Bronze

Silver level

Thirty hour projects recommended for ages 14+. Find out more about this level and how to gain a CREST Award on the Silver Award page.


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Silver

Gold level

Seventy hour projects recommended for ages 16+. Find out more about this level and how to gain a CREST Award on the Gold Awards page


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Gold

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