In this outstanding program, teacher Spiro Liacos uses fantastic animations and amazing visuals to delve into every aspect of reflection, mirrors, and the virtual-3D mirror world that mirrors create. What is reflection? How do mirrors reflect light differently to everything else and how do they form images? In what way are mirror images different to two-dimensional photos? How does our ability to see in 3D affect the way we see images in mirrors? Can animals see things in mirrors? And how do periscopes work? These questions, and many more, are answered in this entertaining and informative program, which finishes with Spiro presenting a range of optical illusions and magic tricks which all incorporate mirrors. You’ll never look into a mirror in the same way again.
Languages: English
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Newton’s First Law
Presenter Spiro Liacos is “thrown forward” in a head-on collision, “thrown backwards” when his tram takes off, and “thrown to the side” when his car suddenly turns a corner. But in fact none of these things actually happen! Using brilliant visuals, this episode looks at the fact that an object will remain stationary or move with a constant velocity unless a force acts on it. It also describes a number of different forces that affect our lives daily.
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Newton’s Second Law
We answer the most important question that has ever been asked: how does a magician pull a tablecloth out from under a dinner set? No, seriously, we look at the so simple and yet so powerful equation Fnet = ma. Newton’s Second Law tells us how to calculate the amount of force required to accelerate something by a given amount.
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Newton’s Third Law
We look at that most poetic of all Laws: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. How does a rocket engine work? Why do guns recoil when they’re fired? How do our muscles work? What propels us when we’re swimming? And how exactly is gravity a two-way interaction? All these questions, and many more, will be answered in this excellent video.
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The Periodic Table
We begin by comparing and contrasting metals with non-metals. We then describe how Dmitri Mendeleev, the scientist who devised the first Periodic Table, organised the elements not just into metals and non-metals but also into groups based on patterns in the way that they chemically react. Finally, we explain how Mendeleev was able to use the Periodic Table to predict the existence of, and many of the properties of, elements that hadn’t at the time been discovered!
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Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons
We take a look at the three types of particles that make up atoms and describe how they are arranged within atoms. Using live demonstrations and outstanding animations, we then look back at the experiments that led to the discovery of these three particles.
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Electron Shells
We look at how electrons are arranged within atoms in electron shells, and at how the Periodic Table is organised to reflect these arrangements. We demonstrate a variety of experiments which led to the discovery of electron shells and finish by taking a brief look at the size of atoms.
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Covalent Bonding
We look at how the atoms of non-metals bond together with covalent bonds to form molecules, introduce electron dot diagrams and structural formulas, explain how the electron configuration of an atom affects the number of bonds it can make, and finally introduce the topic of organic chemistry.
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Ionic Bonding
We look at how the atoms of metals bond with the atoms of non-metals with what are called ionic bonds. We show how atoms can gain or lose electrons (in chemical reactions involving metals and non-metals), and that the number of electrons gained or lost depends on an atom’s electron configuration. We finish by comparing ionic compounds with covalent compounds, and explain the difference, at the atomic level, between solids, liquids, and gases.
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Forms of Energy
We introduce students to the different types of energy that affect their lives daily and describe how energy can change from one form to another. We also explore one of the most important discoveries ever made.