Physical Science: WKRP explains the atom

Remember that good old show WKRP.  What happened to great TV like that?  Anyway, in this video the teacher teaches one of his students all about the atom.  This clip is full of humor while teaching the concept.  He does a pretty good job of it too.  Lighten the mood in your classroom by showing this video during your unit on Atoms.

Subject:  Physical Science/Chemistry
Time:  3:50
Grade Level:  6-12

Science: (Astronomy) How much does Thor's Hammer weigh?

I have to admit that I would have never though about how much Thor's hammer weighed, until you this video got into the hypothetical science behind it.  After all Thor's hammer was made in a dying star.  This video isn't so much about Thor's hammer as it is about the density of dying stars.  I am only assuming that Vsauce, the video creator, did the research, but this video would make a great conversation starter when talking about density and specifically about the density of collapsed stars.

 Subject:  Astronomy/Physical Science
Time:  3:29
Grade Level:  6-12

Science: Why do some objects feel colder when in reality they are the same temperature?

I really am liking Veritasiums scientific Youtube videos.  You all ought to check out his educational Youtube page.  In this video he goes to a park and asks pedestrians why a hard drive and a book sitting at the same temperature have a different temperature feel to it.  The hard drive feels colder than the book.  He then takes an aluminum plate and a plastic plate to see which plate melts ice quicker.  Even though the aluminum plate feels colder, it melts the ice quicker.  This science experiment is very similar to ones that I do with my 7th grade science classes.

Subject:  Science (Physical)
Grade Levels:   6-12
Time:  4:00

Science: Why do round objects hit the ground at the same time when dropped at the same time?

If you are teaching physical science and have often tried to come up with a great explanation about why objects hit the ground at the same time if they are dropped from the same height and time, then Veritasium once again does an excellent job with this explanation  The video first starts off with him asking people off the street about which ball will hit the ground at the same time.  After listening to their ideas he then performs the experiment.  He takes it one step further when he asks the people why they think both objects hit at the same time.  Some of their scientific ideas are pretty funny to listen to.  Try showing this video to your students asking them questions along the way.  Or even better yet try the experiment with them, adding different sized and weighted objects.


Subject:  Science (Physical)
Grade Levels:   6-12
Time:  3;00

Science: What is a pulley and how does it work?

This educational video is done by Bill Nye the Science Guy.  This 6 minute segment does an excellent job discussing how pulleys work and why and where we use them.

Subject:  Physical Science
Grade Level:  2-8
Length:  6:08

Science: How small are atoms?

Bill Nye demonstrates how small atoms are in this educational film.  Your students will find it interesting to see that most of everything is actually empty space and that the nucleus of the atom and it electrons are really spread out.

Subject:  Physical Science
Grade Level:  4-8
Length:  6:37

Science: What is voltage, resistance, and current?

In this educational video, Grandpa John does an excellent job explaining voltage, resistance, and current.  He uses a series and different types of light bulbs for his demonstration.  Very easy to understand.

Grade Level:  3-12
Subject:  Physical Science
Length:  1:59