Low-resource or low equipment sharing resources


The resources on this page have been selected to support educators in finding CREST project ideas that require little equipment, can be run outside of a lab or at home, and use equipment that doesn’t require much sharing.

Find out more about the different CREST Award levels here: CREST Awards.

At primary level, our curated home learning packs don’t require many resources so they’re perfect to use either in the classroom or at home. For Primary teachers who have CLEAPSS access, we recommend this piece on doing Practical activities within your bubble.

At secondary level, each project brief has an overall challenge, ideas for getting started and a list of resources you might need. Read the health and safety section carefully before you begin. Young people should create a plan for their project and a risk assessment before they begin any practical activity. You can use the CLEAPSS student safety sheets as well as the rest of the CLEAPSS website to help them.

If you are looking for further advice on how to get started with CREST, visit our help centre and check out our FAQs.

If you are looking for ideas for running CREST at home, many of the below resources are suitable, and you can still access our Star and SuperStar Home Learning packs below. If you need further support, check out the CREST at home section of the Help Centre.


To browse the resources, click the buttons below or scroll down.
crestaward
Views
5 years ago
Flag

How much starch is in a potato

  • Text
  • Starch
  • Varieties
  • Content
  • Affects
  • Investigate
  • Iodine
  • Determine
  • Spuds
  • Rank
  • Detergents
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).

Click to edit project

Click to edit project description

Page 1 of 2 All potatoes contain starch; however, some varieties of potato have more starch than others. The amount of starch in a potato affects what it’s used for in terms of cooking and food preparation. In this project, you will investigate the starch content of different varieties of potato and see how this affects their viscosity. Getting Started You should begin this project by finding out how the starch content of foodstuffs affects cooking and food preparation. Which varieties of potatoes are used to prepare certain food products, and why? Things to think about Why not go further when selecting your types of potatoes? Try using them in different forms such as crisps and chips. Select some spuds to test. Try to pick as wide a selection of varieties as possible, for example, new potatoes, white potatoes, red potatoes and baking potatoes. Starch content: Test your potatoes for the presence of starch using iodine as an indicator. Use this method to see if it is possible to produce qualitative data to rank your potato varieties from those having the most to those having the least starch content. Find out how you can use a colorimeter to determine the starch content of your potato selection. This will provide you with quantitative data. Now rank your spuds in order of starch content from highest to lowest. Cleaning the pan: When you boil potatoes some of the potato disintegrates and can get stuck to the saucepan. It usually sticks due to the presence of starch. Design an experiment to investigate which detergents are most effective in the removal of starch from saucepans. See what effect detergent has on the structure of starch by examining slides of boiled potato pulp, stained with iodine with a light microscope. Test different detergents, and different concentrations of the same detergent to determine the most cost effective way of cleaning your saucepan. Click to edit project description Potato starch and viscosity: Potato starch is found in a wide variety of foods, dyes, adhesives, gums and pharmaceuticals. Try finding out how potato starch is made and its uses. One key property of potato starch is its viscosity. Investigate how to use a Marsh funnel to determine the viscosity of your selection of potato varieties. Compare their viscosities and suggest which of the above applications they would be most suitable for. Useful Resources You could link up with someone from the agricultural industry to find out what sorts of potatoes they grow and what they’re used for. Food manufacturers may also be able to provide you with information.

Copied successfully!

Challenges for ages 5-11


These challenges take about an hour each. Once you have completed eight of them you can get a CREST SuperStar Award. Start by downloading the Passport. Children can use this to record each activity they complete.

Our curated packs for home learning require very little equipment or resources, so are ideal now that you are back in the classroom. They also add flexibility as students can finish their Star or SuperStar Award at home, if needed.

Each challenge has an organiser card and an activity card. All the instructions to set up the activity are in the organiser card. Read the 'watch out' section carefully before you begin. Children can use the activity card or you can read it through together.

Find out more about Star and SuperStar levels here.


Back to top

Projects for ages 11-18


Each of these projects take between ten and thirty hours to complete. The project briefs have an overall challenge, ideas for getting started and a list of resources students might need. Before they begin, students should read the health and safety section carefully. Once students have completed their projects, they can get a CREST Discovery, Bronze, Silver or Gold Award. The amount of time spent on the project and how well they met the CREST criteria determines the level students will be awarded.

Start by downloading the relevant Workbook or Profile Form below. Young people can use these to help them complete their project and record their progress.

Young people should create a plan for their project and a risk assessment before they begin any practical activity, which should be checked by a teacher. You can use the CLEAPSS student safety sheets as well as the rest of the CLEAPSS website to help them.

For Bronze projects, once a student has completed their project, you can sign up to assess it and order their personalised certificate here. Bronze assessment is incredibly easy and can also be adapted for at-home learning if needed due to unexpected lockdowns, meaning parents can always assess when teachers cannot. Check out how to assess a Bronze project here

For Silver and Gold projects student work will need to be submitted online and will be assessed by a CREST assessor. Learn more about assessment for Silver Awards here

Find out more about Bronze level here.

Find out more about Silver level here.

Find out more about Gold level here.


Back to top

Managed by:

Supported by:

British Science Association

Wellcome Wolfson Building,
165 Queen's Gate
London
SW7 5HD

© 2018 British Science Association

Search