Curated Video
Alkali Metals
Witness the exciting reactions that occur when alkali metals come into contact with other substances. What does this tell us about their properties? Chemistry - Periodic Table - Learning Points. The alkali metals make up Group 1 of the...
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Nuclear Power
How is this powerful and controversial energy source produced? Do the advantages outweigh the dangers of nuclear power? Earth Science - Earth's Resources - Learning Points. Nuclear power is created using uranium, and small amounts can...
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Reactivity Series: Reactive Metals
The discovery and uses of reactive metals throughout history, and how their uses have defined the period in which they were discovered. Chemistry - Periodic Table - Learning Points. The reactivity series ranks the chemical reactivity of...
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Carbon: Synthetic Diamonds
Diamonds take millions of years to form within the Earth's mantle, but now scientists are trying to produce them synthetically. Chemistry - Atoms And Bonding - Learning Points. Diamonds take a long time to form in the Earth's mantle....
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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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Metal Extraction
We extract copper metal from copper chloride solution using electrolysis. The electric current causes copper to form at one electrode and chlorine gas to form at the other. The presence of chlorine is tested using blue litmus paper....
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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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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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Dry Ice and Magnesium
We use magnesium and blocks of dry ice to show how a redox reaction occurs. A cavity in a block of dry ice is filled with coils of magnesium ribbon, which are set alight. A second block is then placed on top, but instead of this putting...
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Ionic Bonding
How metals and non-metals combine to form compounds with unique and very different properties. Chemistry - Atoms And Bonding - Learning Points. An electrically charged atom is called an ion. Ionic bonds are very strong. Ions are formed...
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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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Mars: Under the Ice
Scientists have found microbes frozen deep in the Antarctic ice sheets, in conditions very similar to the red planet's surface. Could life exist on Mars, in suspended animation? Physics - Universe - Learning Points. In 2001, a frozen...
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What Are Magnets?
What are the properties of magnets, and why are they useful to us? Physics - Electricity And Circuits - Learning Points. A permanent magnet is a piece of metal that possesses a magnetic field. The magnetic field is strongest at the...
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How Do Generators Work?
Discover how simple magnets and wires can be used to create electricity - and how this principle is now used in national power supplies. Physics - Electricity And Circuits - Learning Points. In 1835 the scientist Michael Faraday made an...
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Ionic bond
Very strong chemical bonds between oppositely charged ions. A Twig Science Glossary Film. Key scientific terms defined in just 60 seconds using stunning images and concise textual definitions. Twig Science Glossary Films reinforce...
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Delocalised electrons
In a metal, each metal atom readily gives up its outer shell electrons, resulting in a sea of free electrons flowing throughout a lattice of positively charged metal ions. A Twig Science Glossary Film. Key scientific terms defined in...
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What's inside the Earth?
Let's take a journey inside the Earth and explore the different layers – crust, mantle, outer core and inner core. Our universe - Planet Earth - What's inside the Earth? Learning Points The internal structure of the Earth consists of...
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Making steel
Find out how steel is made. The world around us - Exploring materials - How do we get materials? Learning Points Materials can come from the Earth, animals and plants. Humans can turn raw materials into finished product. A Twig Junior...
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Liquids – Did you know?
Did you know that mercury has a low melting point and is the only metal which is liquid at room temperature? Material processes - Solids, liquids and gases - Liquids Learning Points Mercury is the only metal that is a liquid at room...
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Heat transfer – Did you know?
Did you know that wooden or plastic utensils are used when cooking food because they are insulators? Physical processes - Energy and energy transfer - Heat transfer Learning Points Metal is a thermal conductor. Wood and plastic are...
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Magnetism – Did you know?
Did you know that when a coil of metal moves within a magnetic field it produces electricity? Physical processes - Electricity and magnetism - Magnetism Learning Points A coil of metal moving within a magnetic field produces electricity....
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Dangers of sound – Odd one out
Four different materials are shown, but which can absorb the most sound? Physical processes - Sound - Dangers of sound A Twig Tidbit Film - Odd one out. The children have to work out which of four images is the odd one out.