Uses of Copper is a free CD-Rom for key stage 34 from the Copper Development Association. This colourful resource could be used with an interactive whiteboard, but it would be much more successful if networked and made available for individual use.
The different content for KS3 and KS4 is clearly separated, although much would be of interest to students of both ages. It would be effective for students studying the properties of metals in general, as well as of copper. One useful feature is cut-away diagrams illustrating the uses of copper and its alloys. When students move the cursor over the relevant part of the illustration, an explanation opens in another window. The CD gives details of large-scale copper mining, a topic of interest in the context of its environmental effects and of use to teachers of the new science GCSE starting in September. There is also a lot of unfamiliar material, including the chemistry of minerals and their recovery, that would interest many students.
l www.cda.org.uk
