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:

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Bronze Silver Gold Partner resources

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The properties of saucepans

Research the various properties of materials used to make a cooking utensil of your choice. 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 The properties of saucepans There are lots of different properties that are essential for cooking utensils. In this project, you will research the various properties of materials used to make a cooking utensil of your choice - we have chosen saucepans. Getting Started Check the properties of different materials used to make saucepans and create a list of the essential properties required for a saucepan. Properties of materials can be split into three categories: chemical, physical and mechanical. Take your list of essential properties for a saucepan and sort them into these categories. You need to design some tests to: • Look at the properties of materials used to make saucepans - these tests will allow you to determine quantitative values for the properties. • Compare saucepans made from a range of different materials - these tests will allow you to gain some comparative values and decide which of the tested saucepans is best, and which you think is best value for money. When designing your tests try to make sure you get quantitative results. If you test for thermal conductivity you should gain a value for the rate at which heat flows through a cross-sectional area of material. Find out if there are any British Standards for your utensils - try to get hold of the Standard Procedures used to test them in industry. Comparing saucepans - you could do some research or design some tests to investigate: • Which saucepans boil water quickest? Do they retain heat as well? Click to edit project description • Does it make a difference what heat source is used? For example, try the different saucepans on halogen hobs, electric hobs, gas hobs or an Aga. • Which saucepans are non-stick? Try testing with different foods, such as potato, which has relatively high starch content. • Which saucepans are scratched by abrasives e.g. dish clothes, wire wool etc.? • Do other kitchen utensils scratch the saucepan? Should you stir food with wooden or plastic spoons, or is it OK to use metal spoons, and if so, what type of metal? Things to think about Properties of materials - some properties of materials you could investigate include: Hardness Strength Stiffness Density Thermal conductivity Melting point Thermal expansivity Specific heat capacity Resistance to chemicals: You could also think about any finishes applied to the utensils. For example, test the properties of non-stick surfaces. Useful Resources Try to detect metal ions released when cooking. You probably won’t be able to do this in your school/college, as the traces of metal ions are likely to be extremely small – you’ll have to link up with somebody from industry to use specialist equipment. Research the sorts of techniques used for metal ion detection – these include voltammetry using diamond electrodes and spectrophotometric methods. Suggest why some cookware is so much more expensive than others. Why do we still have to carry out tests on materials even though you can look up their properties in data books and databases? Investigate why some people have thrown away their aluminium pans and find out why you shouldn’t make jam in a copper pan.