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Ingenhousz's Heat Conductors
We use a metal box holding rods of different materials to test their ability to conduct heat. The box is filled with boiling water and a paperclip is attached to the end of each rod using petroleum jelly. As the heat moves through the...
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Incandescent Light Bulb
We look at how an incandescent light bulb can be made. First we attach a tungsten wire to electrodes in a flask of air and pass a current through the wire. The wire glows briefly before burning and breaking. Next we fill the flask with...
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Heat Absorption
We use two cans, one painted black and the other painted white, to investigate heat absorption. The containers are placed in front of a heat source and the temperature change is recorded. This shows that the black container absorbs heat...
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Distillation of Ink
We use distillation to remove the water from ink. The ink is heated in a conical flask with a delivery tube running to a beaker. The water has a lower boiling point and so it evaporates before the ink. The water condenses as it travels...
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Endothermic Reaction
We demonstrate an endothermic reaction by mixing hydrated barium hydroxide with ammonium thiocyanate. When these two solids react they take heat from the surrounding air. Chemistry - Reactions - Learning Points. Breaking bonds takes in...
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Heat Loss
We compare two cans, one painted black and the other painted white, to see how quickly they lose heat. The containers are placed in front of a heat source and heated to the same temperature. The temperature in each container is recorded...
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Ball and Hoop
We use a metal ball and hoop to demonstrate heat expansion. When cool, the ball fits through the hoop, but there is little extra space. The ball is then heated over a Bunsen burner. When hot, the ball doesn't fit through the hoop. We see...
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Mass of Wire Wool
We look at how the mass of wire wool changes when it is burned. Wire wool is almost 99% iron. When we burn it, it combines chemically with oxygen from the air to form iron(III) oxide. The mass of the product is more than the mass of the...
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Burning Bubbles
We investigate the properties of two types of gas bubbles: methane gas bubbles and bubbles of the gas we breathe out. The air-filled bubbles sink and we are unable to set them alight, while the methane bubbles float upwards and are...
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Hero's Engine
We use a Hero's engine model to show how equal and opposite forces can cause propulsion. Two holes are pierced in a metal bottle and some water is added. This is suspended above a Bunsen burner, and as the water boils and leaves the...
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Screaming Jelly Baby
We add a jelly baby to a boiling tube containing potassium chlorate. When the chemicals react, gas is rapidly produced. The screaming sound is created as the gas escapes from the tube. The sweet burns brightly as the reaction occurs....
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Extracting Lead
We discover how to extract lead from lead(II) oxide. We mix lead(II) oxide with charcoal powder and then heat the mixture using a Bunsen burner. It glows bright red as a reaction occurs and after a few minutes we are left with pure lead....
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Underwater Volcano
We create an underwater volcano by placing a conical flask of hot coloured water in a tank of cold water. The hot coloured water rises through the cold, demonstrating convection. Physics - Energy And Radioactivity - Learning Points....
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Forming Iron Sulfide
We examine the different properties of iron and sulfur when they are mixed and when they are chemically combined. When iron and sulfur are mixed they retain their individual properties. When they react chemically to form iron sulfide...
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Can Crusher
We demonstrate the effects of imbalances of pressure. A metal can is crushed by atmospheric pressure. We add some water to a can and boil it until the can is full of water vapour. It is then sealed and left to cool and after a few...
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How We Touch
How the four sensory receptors in our skin, which detect heat, cold, pain and pressure, help us to feel an object, and can even help us tell if we like something or not. Biology - Being Human - Learning Points. The skin contains millions...
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Extraction of Aluminium
Explore the difficulties of extracting aluminium from its ore, and how the vast quantities of heat and electricity generated by electrolysis allow this to happen. Chemistry - ReactionsLearning Points. Aluminium is difficult to extract...
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Redox Reactions
For centuries, humans have been extracting metals from molten ores. Today, the basic technique remains the same, but how does extraction work? Chemistry - Reactions - Learning Points. Metals can be extracted from rocks if they are heated...
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Inventions to Save the Planet
Discover some geo-engineering techniques that scientists are developing to manipulate Earth's climate. What are they and how would they work? Earth Science - Human Impacts - Learning Points. Geo-engineering strives to use technology to...
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Land Formations
Learn how our planet's landscapes, from mountains to hills, plateaus to plains, have been sculpted over millions of years by powerful geological forces. Earth Science - Geology - Learning Points. The planet's diverse landscape is shaped...
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Climate Influences
Climate varies across the world, producing distinct climate zones. Discover the many factors that create these differences. Earth Science - Weather - Learning Points. Climate varies across the world. The world can be divided into six...
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Fossil Fuels: Use
Fossil fuels are a finite energy source. How long will they last, and why is it so difficult and costly to extract these fuels from beneath the earth and oceans? Earth Science - Earth's Resources - Learning Points. Fossil fuels are...
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Types of Weather: Wind
What is wind and what are localised winds? Find out about the global cycles which take winds right across the world. Earth Science - Weather - Learning Points. Wind begins with the difference in air pressure. Air moves from areas of high...
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Geothermal Power
The heat at the centre of our planet could fulfil all of our energy needs. Find out how some are already utilising geothermal power. Earth Science - Earth's Resources - Learning Points. Geothermal power is obtained from heat within the...