Be Smart
Engines of Destruction: The Science of Hurricanes!
A typical tropical cyclone consumes the same amount of power as the entire United States. Scientists understand hurricanes and predict their sizes and paths. The video explains the relationship between hurricanes and ideal engines. It...
Be Smart
What’s Really Warming the Earth?
More carbon dioxide exists in the atmosphere than ever in human history. An informative video introduces the topic of global warming as part of a larger playlist. It looks at possible causes such as Earth's orbit, Earth's moving axis,...
PBS
The Trouble With Trilobites
Trilobites survived on Earth for longer than mammals have, so what was their secret? From their evolution to diversity, they survived multiple large changes in the environment—and even flourished. Then, in the matter of less than a...
PBS
When Did the First Flower Bloom?
Were the first flowers made in China? The first evidence of a flower, discovered in current-day China, changes the story of life on Earth. A short video details the evolution of flowers. It highlights the co-evolution of animals and...
PBS
What Colors Were Dinosaurs?
Beauty has no color, so why do scientists care about the color of dinosaurs? New evidence turned the world of dinosaurs colors upside down! From adorable red, fluffy dinosaurs to sharply contrasting black and white, these colors inform...
PBS
Stegosaurs: Tiny Brains and Thagomizers
In 1982, a Far Side comic referenced the thagomizer, and now thagomizer remains the appropriate term used by the Smithsonian, BBC, and scientists. An engaging video explains why stegosaurs are unique, focusing on the tiny brains,...
PBS
That Time Oxygen Almost Killed Everything
Oxygen keeps us alive, but did you ever consider how Earth found the right balance? Eons produced this video as part of a larger series that explores when Earth contained very little oxygen and green oceans ruled the planet. Viewers see...
PBS
Dimetrodon: Our Most Unlikely Ancestor
Dimetrodon lived before flowers, and people often believe it was a dinosaur. Research, however, proves a different story. An informative video teaches more about the dimetrodon, a mammal often confused for a reptile. It explains the...
PBS
The Extinction That Never Happened
How do scientists define a mass extinction event in the fossil record, and what happens when they are wrong? Scientists find living plants and animals previously believed to be extinct on almost every continent. An engaging video...
PBS
History's Most Powerful Plants
At one point, scale trees accounted for nearly half of the biomass in North America and Europe. An installment of a longer video series introduces these strange plants and describes their features, adaptations, and eventual demise. It...
PBS
When The Earth Was Purple
Earth appears blue and green now, but an interesting video covers a theory about when our planet was purple. We know the sun emits mostly green light, so why do most plants repel green light rather than absorbing it? Did purple microbes...
PBS
When Whales Walked
Remember that time whales were the size of house cats and walked on land? It's true—the evolution of whales is stranger than many suspect! See it all unfold in a historical video from PBS Eons channel that presents the evidence proving...
PBS
An Illustrated History of Dinosaurs
Science and art influence each other, and a visual study of dinosaurs based on artwork throughout time introduces an interesting topic. The video from the PBS Eons channel features Hank Green. It highlights artwork from the earliest...
Socratica
Chemistry: Stoichiometry Part 2—Mass to Mass Conversions
The term stoichiometry derives from the Greek words stoicheion meaning element and metron meaning measure. The second Socratica video in a two-part series within a larger chemistry playlist introduces more complex stoichiometry...
Socratica
Chemistry: Intro to Stoichiometry with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
What do grilled cheese sandwiches have to do with chemistry? Show your class the answer and introduce them to stoichiometry using an intriguing video from the Socratica chemistry playlist. Through an easy example—making a grilled cheese...
Socratica
Chemistry: Limiting Reactants aka Limiting Reagents
An installment from the Socratica chemistry video series explains limiting reactants. It includes multiple example problems to demonstrate how scientists control for these limiting reagents.
Socratica
Chemistry: What is pH—How to Calculate pH
Is it better to drink an acid or a base? An informative video explains what pH is and how to calculate it. As part of a larger chemistry playlist, it features both the Arrhenius and Bronsted-Lowry definitions. It also demonstrates...
Socratica
What Are Intermolecular Forces?
Johannes Diderik van der Waals won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1910. The video, part of the Socratica chemistry playlist, explains what the van der Waals forces are and how they interact based on type. It details dipole interactions...
Socratica
Chemistry: Boyle's Law (Gas Laws)
Pressure and volume remain inversely proportional for all gases. Socratica presents a video about this relationship as part of their chemistry playlist. It explains Boyle's Law and the associated formulas before demonstrating the...
Socratica
Chemistry: What Is the Mole (Avogadro's Number)?
Avogadro did not find or create Avogadro's number—it was just named after him out of respect for his work. The Socratica chemistry playlist presents a must-see video introduction to the mole. It details how to convert to moles from mass,...
Socratica
Chemistry: What Is a Covalent Bond? (Polar and Nonpolar)
When it comes to covalent bonding, sharing is caring! As part of the Socratica chemistry playlist, a useful video explains the definition of covalent bonding. Then, it works through examples of single bonding, double bonding, polar...
Socratica
Chemistry: How to Write Electron Configuration
Before determining which electrons are available for reactions, scientists identify each atom's electron configuration. An informative video from Socratica's chemistry playlist includes how to write electron configurations. It explains...
Socratica
Chemistry: Average Atomic Mass (AMU, Daltons, etc.)
Scientists created a new measurement, the atomic mass unit, which is defined as carbon 12 = 12amu. So why isn't carbon listed as having exactly 12 amu on the periodic table? An installment from the Socratica chemistry playlist answers...
Socratica
Chemistry: Introduction to Unit Conversion and Dimensional Analysis
While some branches of science refer to it as dimensional analysis and others as unit conversions, both terms mean the same thing. Socratica presents a video explaining the basics of this topic discussing inches-to-feet conversion as...