Physical Science

The importance of the low natural abundance of 13C is stressed in this program, showing how it influences the development of the subject. The program covers types of decoupling, the effect of chemical shift, and the effect of deuterium and 13C labels. (21 minutes)

St. Servatius Basilica in Maastricht is one of Holland's oldest churches; it has been restored and redesigned several times over the years. During the 20th century, the interior began to decay: the church was built of a soft stone that absorbs water easily; water had entered the stone and salt had built up on or just below the surface of the stone. One of these salts was calcium sulfate, which expands in hydrate form, so that it expanded every time fresh water was absorbed. As a result, the stone began to crumble. To restore the church, the calcium sulfate had to be removed, but calcium sulfate is not very soluble and therefore difficult to remove. This program shows the fascinating combination of steps necessary to solve the problem, remove the sulfate, and save the church. (30 minutes)

What is time? Did it have a beginning? Will it ever end? Is it something that humans have created, or does it exist independently of the universe? This intriguing program explores the meaning of time through the eyes of poets, philosophers, and scientists throughout the ages. In addition, it traces the development of time-measuring and time-keeping instruments, from sundials and calendars, to time zones and atomic clocks. A Cambridge Educational Production. (37 minutes)

This program defines and demonstrates the concepts of speed, velocity, and acceleration, using basic equations to stress their interrelation. There is also a demonstration of how a variation of Newton's second law of motion can be used to determine the weight of an object. In addition, the contributions of Galileo and Newton to the understanding of acceleration, gravity, and motion are discussed. A Cambridge Educational Production. (12 minutes)

Use this video to familiarize students with the properties of acids and bases. Beginning with an overview of how these two kinds of chemicals react to or neutralize each other, the program explores Arrhenius's ideas on ion release and Lowry and Bronsted's theory of proton exchange. Details on the pH scale, indicators, conjugate bases, and Lowry-Bronsted reactions are featured along with numerous examples of acid and base applications-cleaning agents, electric batteries, stomach antacids, and indicators in analytical chemistry experiments. Viewers will find the video's lively demonstrations and their use of everyday objects and materials particularly helpful. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. (31 minutes)

In the first lesson, five aqueous solutions are tested for degrees of acidity and alkalinity. The nature of acids and bases is examined. In lesson two, table salt is produced by mixing small pieces of aluminum with solutions of hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide. Current flow in acid, neutral, and alkaline solutions is demonstrated. An experiment using ammonia water and dry ice tests varying degrees of acidity. An on-site visit to a neutralization plant in Japan shows how acid levels are reduced by putting quantities of limestone into the Yukawa River. A third lesson demonstrates precautions that should be taken when performing experiments involving heat. Investigations that use chemicals such as chlorine bleach, ether, and metallic sodium, which should not be attempted in a school lab, are also demonstrated. (37 minutes)

Much less dense than most other metals, alkali metals are also extremely chemically reactive. Segments in this program include Exploring Alkali Metals (properties of the alkali metals); Lithium: Aircraft Alloys (why lithium is an ideal partner for aluminum in aircraft alloys); Sodium: Salt from the Sea (a desalination operation on Catalina Island, California); Cesium: Atomic Clocks (the role of cesium in calibrating atomic clocks and global positioning systems); and The Insider's Guide to Fantastic Fireworks (how fireworks are made, plus advancements in pyrotechnic technology). A Discovery Channel Production. (55 minutes)

Almost as unstable as alkali metals, soft and silvery alkaline earth metals react easily with water. Segments in this program include Exploring Alkaline Earth Metals (properties of the alkaline earth metals); Calcium: Building Bones (the relationship between calcium and the human skeletal system); Strontium: Fatal Fallout (the uses of strontium, plus the dangers of the radioactive isotope strontium 90); Radium: Curie's Cure (radium's role as a cancer-fighting tool); and Inside the Body's Bones (how a little girl's body repairs her broken arm). A Discovery Channel Production. (55 minutes)

With crystal-clear graphics and calculation examples, this program introduces concepts of scalar and vector quantities and provides a solid grounding in kinematics. Viewers learn about vector and scalar quantities and their units, as well as distance and displacement, speed and velocity, and the special case of uniform circular motion. Acceleration is defined in terms of velocity change over time, including negative acceleration and an analysis of centripetal acceleration in a circular path with constant speed. Galileo's inclined plane experiment is discussed in conjunction with calculations used to measure acceleration on inclined planes. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. (20 minutes)

Aluminum is extracted and purified from clays and rocks at a British plant by purifying bauxite ore to aluminum oxide and reducing this oxide to molten metal. The influence of economic factors is seen in the location of aluminum plants, which consume large amounts of electrical energy. In the United States, plants are located close to the power source rather than to ore deposits; in England, where electricity is uniformly priced throughout the country, location is determined by proximity to the raw material. Various desirable properties of the product aluminum and its alloys are shown, as well as the link between specific properties of each alloy and its end use. (20 minutes)

This program begins with an overview of the basic concepts of chemical equilibrium: reversible reactions, Le Chatelier's principle, the equilibrium law, and the calculation of K. It then analyzes how changing conditions other than temperature leads to a temporary shift in the position of equilibrium and how reactions spontaneously adjust to maintain the value of K for any given temperature. Changes in K when increasing and decreasing the temperature of exothermic and endothermic reactions are examined as well, and the concept of equilibrium as it relates to the industrial manufacture of sulfuric acid is highlighted. (21 minutes)

Atomic structure lies at the crossroads of both chemistry and physics, and this program examines a field of study crucial to both: the scientific shell game known as quantum mechanics. Schrodinger's mathematical distribution and the Pauli Exclusion Principle; electron orbitals and the three types of quantum numbers; and shells, subshells, and nodes are all discussed. A thorough demonstration of writing electron configurations is included as well. (27 minutes)

In this concise and logically formatted program, students discover the fundamental building blocks of the universe: the elements. Lively computer animation makes the atom and its constituent parts-the proton, neutron, and electron-easy to understand. The Bohr Model and the Quantum Mechanical Model of the atom are clearly differentiated. Working from these concepts, students can then make sense of the Periodic Table with its arrangement according to Atomic Mass. The program also explains the concept of the mole and the different chemical bonds within molecules and compounds. A valuable summary at the end of the video reinforces all the concepts. Correlates to Project 2061 Benchmarks for Science Literacy from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. A Cambridge Educational Production. (16 minutes)

Lesson one looks at copper atoms using a Scanning Tunnelling Microscope connected to a computer. Several demonstrations of combustion include burning firecrackers under water. Lesson two shows combustion of an industrial diamond. Thermite reaction produces iron metal from iron oxide. Tatara, the traditional Japanese steelmaking process, is described. Lesson three studies chemical reactions between iron powder and sulfur, zinc and sulfur, and copper and sulfur. Chemical combination and decomposition, dry distillation, and pyrolysis are discussed. (41 minutes)

All matter in the observable universe-from a single blade of grass to a planet in a faraway galaxy-is made up of atoms, molecules, and compounds. This program introduces these minuscule building blocks in five sections: The Nucleus (protons and neutrons, energy shells, binding energy, fission and fusion); The Electrons (quantum numbers, spdf orbitals); The Elements (periodic table, valence electrons, ions and ionization energy, electronegativity, covalent and ionic bonds); The Energy of Atoms (exothermic and endothermic reactions, spontaneous reactions, Gibbs free energy, activation energy, catalysts); and Common Compounds (properties of sodium chloride and water, polarity). A viewable/printable instructor's guide is available online. A Films for the Humanities & Sciences Production. A part of the series Essential Chemistry. (25 minutes)