You see it everywhere — t-shirts, coffee mugs, posters ... but why was Einstein's most famous equation such a turning point in our understanding of the relationship between matter and energy? The short video demonstrates the math behind the math of E=mc2 in an easy-to-follow format.

Concepts

kinetic energy, velocity, mass, the law of conservation of energy, the speed of light, time

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Show the video after learning about the Special Theory of Relativity
• Do the derivation along with the narrator and pause the video at key points to have pupils explain the steps

Classroom Considerations

• Learners need some prior knowledge of the equation for the resource to be impactful

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Animated "cat in space" scenario is engaging and helps scholars understand the reasoning behind the math
• The video provides a step-by-step walkthrough that explains Einstein's ideas before, during, and after he developed the equation

Cons

• None