Ideas and activities based on snowflakes for the science classroom at Christmas In the run up to the Christmas holidays you may wish to plan a festive science lesson, or two, for your classes. Here we present a couple of ideas with a snowflake-based theme, which are not only fun but teach some objectives from the…
School visit to CERN
Physics teacher and author, Emilia Iwanczuk is currently Head of Key Stage 3 Science at a school in Nottinghamshire. Here she describes a recent visit to CERN – a brilliant opportunity for her A and AS level Physics students to be inspired by the ground-breaking work and the Large Hadron Collider. “At the beginning of October 2014,…
Scientist Biography: Robert Brown and Brownian motion
Meet Smart Scientist Robert Brown who has been credited with the discovery of Brownian motion. Robert Brown (21 December 1773 – 10 June 1858) was a Scottish botanist whose place in history was earned by the observations of how starch grains from pollen move across the surface of water, a movement that we now call Brownian motion….
Smart Facts – Brownian motion
Smart Facts – Brownian motion Ten fascinating facts about Brownian motion to share with your KS3 science students. Brownian motion is named after Robert Brown who, in 1828, observed small particles from pollen grains moving about on the surface of water. He couldn’t explain why but he did publicly describe his observations. Robert Brown…
Oops! When science goes wrong – Nanotechnology and problems with Brownian motion
Brownian motion and how it causes problems for scientists. Brownian motion causes no significant effects on macro structures such as humans. However, scientists are finding that it can cause problems when working at a nano-scale. Does Brownian motion cause you any problems? Well, the answer is a resounding ‘no’! Brownian motion is the random movement…
Homework Activity – Swirling colours and water molecules
Swirling colours – an experiment that demonstrates Brownian motion and the movement of water molecules. This experiment is a triple whammy! It not only looks great, but it’s also a simple example of Brownian motion and demonstrates how temperature affects the movement of water molecules. You could ask students to use four cocktail sticks…
Free video – Random force and Brownian motion
In this video, Professor Bowley from the University of Nottingham discusses how our understanding of Brownian motion has developed from the first recorded observations by scientists such as Robert Brown, to a detailed scientific explanation through the work of Einstein and Perrin. Random force and Brownian motion The video takes you through a history…
Science resources – Structured questions on Brownian motion
Structured questions on Brownian Motion – free resources for Key Stage 3. Why not test the knowledge of your Key Stage 3 students with these free structured questions on Brownian motion? To make life even easier, there’s a handy marking guide too! The worksheet is based on the model used in the Smart Science series, but can be…