This fully resourced lesson on Pressure in gases is designed to help KS3 / Middle School students develop their understanding of how fluids exert a pressure and how to calculate it through clear explanations and engaging activities.
This is the 1st in a series of lessons and covers the content from the AQA KS3 3.1.4 Pressure topic and the Activate 2 (OUP) 1b: Forces, 1.4.1 Pressure in gases lesson.
The lesson includes all necessary resources, making it easy to implement in your classroom and the lesson's text is editable, allowing you to adjust the duration and depth of the activities based on your students' progress and time constraints.
While primarily designed for UK students with British English spellings and vocabulary, the core content and activities can be easily adapted to suit the needs of students in other countries with similar educational systems.
Presentation contains (53 slides):
- Teacher preparation guide – Step-by-step instructions and technician notes to help you set up and run the lesson smoothly.
- Printable resources – Ready-to-use student worksheets and homework tasks, differentiated by ability.
- Vocabulary quiz starter – A quick activity to review key terms and introduce the main concepts of the lesson.
- Clear objectives and success criteria – Clearly defined learning goals to help students understand what they are learning and how to succeed.
- Discussion prompts – Engaging question slides to spark curiosity and introduce new ideas.
- Accessible information slides – Key content explained using simple visuals and clear explanations, suitable for all learners.
- Interactive activities – Differentiated student tasks that include:
- ○ Pressure calculations (3 levels)
- ○ Multiple choice quiz to check understanding
- Teacher demonstrations – Visual and impactful practicals showing atmospheric pressure in action (collapsing can and sealed syringe).
- Tiered questions – A set of 5 challenge questions with answers, scaffolded by difficulty to support all learners and reinforce key concepts.
- Differentiated homework – Three take-home tasks of increasing difficulty, designed to reinforce learning and extend knowledge beyond the classroom.
Aimed at a mixed ability KS3 class, with three levels of demand to accommodate different learning styles and levels:
- K- Know (low demand)
- A- Apply (standard demand)
- E- Extend (high demand)
This lesson is also available as:
- Sub plan worksheet: Perfect for unplanned absences, this version provides everything a substitute teacher needs to deliver a smooth and engaging lesson.
- Digital worksheet: Perfect for absent students, distance learning, or independent study, this digital version allows students to catch up on missed work at their own pace.
Pressure in gases
- A single license is provided for each user for personal use only. This means that you can use the resource for your own learning or teaching purposes, but you cannot share it with others or use it for commercial purposes. 


