The best science practicals

A selection of the most useful, impressive and interesting science practicals by ITT students. They are all on the Better STEM youtube channel

Elephants Toothpaste

The Electron Diffraction Tube

Demo of setting up an Electron Diffraction Tube, using an HT supply. What to expect, safety considerations and how to test the electron beam.

 

Icing Sugar Flame Thrower (combustion, aerobic respiration)

Icing sugar blown from a funnel attached to a rubber tube, upwards past a Bunsen burner flame, combusts to produce a shocking and beautiful display.

Yeast experiment

Fungi experiment looking at the affect of temperature on growth using a balloon, 10% yeast,10% glucose, water bath, ice, and room temperature. Result in 1 hour only 2 balloons blew up in the water bath.

Rainbow Fizz

Chemistry practical showing neutralisation.

Screaming babies

Involves putting a jelly baby into molten potassium chlorate. The reaction shows the oxidation of the sugar in the jelly baby. Sometimes a high pitched screaming noise can be heard during the reaction.

Screaming baby (jelly) EVEN BIGGER!!!

Terminal Velocity/drag physics practical

you can have one student with a timer say ‘now’ every second and another student mark on the pipe with a whiteboard marker where the ball is (then you can see the intervals become more uniform, reaching terminal velocity) or the opposite

No leak bag

Sodium Ethanoate

Lycopodium powder flame

Lycopodium powder flame – shows the chemical energy stored in a small amount of lycopodium powder, also shows that surface area increases rate of reaction