Pendulum: Simple Harmonic Motion

Skillbank Solutions Ltd

This program introduces the concept of simple harmonic motion through the operation of the pendulum. The findings of Galileo and his contemporaries on the mechanics of the pendulum are presented, along with examples of pendular motion drawn from the modern world. (54 minutes)

The Copenhagen Interpretation: Quantum Physics vs. Relativity

Danish Broadcasting Corporation

This program provides a substantive overview of the theoretical dispute between Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, a controversy that still resonates today. Bohr's Copenhagen Interpretation-that measurement of phenomena creates a set of possible outcomes and that unobserved phenomena are meaningless-is thoroughly explained in conjunction with Einstein's cause-and-effect approach. Using clever animation, archival footage, and interviews with leading physicists, the video illustrates Bohr's double-slit experiment, the EPR paradox, and modern demonstrations of entanglement, composing an effective summary of quantum principles and the problematic friendship of two towering intellects. (59 minutes)

Radio Industry

Planet Pictures

Many technology and mass media pundits have predicted the demise of radio, but radio’s mystique and extraordinary ability to adapt have repeatedly proved them wrong. In this program, the business side of public and commercial radio broadcasting is explored in depth by industry insiders. Host Ray Suarez and others from NPR’s Talk of the Nation discuss how content is created and how their show is produced, while executives at Jones Radio Network offer a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into commercial radio: the way in which audience profiling drives programming, the role of Arbitron ratings, and the business of selling advertising time. Although other forms of mass media offer things that radio cannot, surveys show that it is the immediacy, accessibility, and local feeling of radio—even when prerecorded and beamed by satellite from remote locations—that keep people tuning in. (28 minutes)

Media History

Planet Pictures

This program is an excellent survey of the history of mass media. Academic and industry experts discuss the invention and impact of the printing press, telegraph, and telephone, all of which have allowed information to be easily transmitted over great distances. Mass media as it is currently evolving is also examined in depth. During the 1920s and ’30s, radio dominated entertainment and the news and changed America’s social habits. The advent of broadcast television in the 1950s and the rise of the Big Three networks further shaped America’s culture. In the ’80s and into the ’90s, broadcast TV audience share has declined due to cable and satellite television, VCRs, and Nintendo, and broadcasting has yielded to narrowcasting. Today, globalization and technological convergence are redefining the boundaries of communications. Where is all this leading the media industry? Only tomorrow will tell for sure. (28 minutes)

Taking a Chance: Key Probability Concepts

ClickView Pty Limited

It may sound improbable for young people to be fascinated by the mathematics of chance and prediction—but this program will almost certainly make it happen! Set in the intriguing world of cards, coins, and dice, the video introduces the basic concepts of probability through colorful, easily understood examples. Viewers learn about complementary events, two-way tables, Venn diagrams, tree diagrams, and independent and dependent events. Featuring a crafty magician who uses his tricks to modify and improve the odds, the program provides a charming and highly instructive way to introduce probability concepts to students. Viewable/printable educational materials are available online. (24 minutes)

Measurement and Uncertainty

Rodney Robert Rees

Explaining the importance of measurement in science and the inevitability of uncertainty, this program emphasizes the need for multiple measurements and taking averages. It teaches how to estimate the range of uncertainty in measurements, discusses outliers, and differentiates between accuracy and precision. It also teaches how to manage uncertainty when performing calculations with measurements and shows how to express uncertainty in standard form. The program concludes with a practical exercise—measuring the diameter of the sun and then estimating the uncertainty in the results.

Time Limits

ORF

We perceive time in terms of seconds, the length of a heartbeat. Time Limits uses a combination of computer animation, real time images, and the latest science to provide a new view of our world and our universe. Specially developed motion-control time-lapse photography will bring to life the slow motion world of plants and the beautiful play of day and night. As the journey continues we experience shorter timescales to find elements that exist for less than a millionth of a second. Join the team that made Limits of Perception on a fascinating journey to the limits of time. (50 minutes)

Bioindicator Mice

Looking Glass International

Pollution and the destruction of the environment are two main concerns in our times. Wood mice fulfill all the conditions that make them excellent bioindicators. The mice try to survive in the unfavorable environment by increasing the expression of protective proteins that, for example, are able to reduce the toxic effects and even prevent and repair oxidative damage. At the same time, they reduce the expression of harmful proteins that facilitate the appearance and spreading of tumors. The information that these scientists have been able to collect is unprecedented in environmental research anywhere in the world and opens a new and exciting field of research.

Units of Mass

Discovery Education

This program presents the definition of mass and describes how SI Units are used to measure mass. It also describes how to convert measurements within the metric system and with customary units of measure.

Mass

ClickView Pty Limited

Introduce your students to the metric unit of mass with this fun Miniclip featuring everyday examples to illustrate the use of milligrams, grams, and kilograms. Also explained is the method of converting between metric units of mass using multiplication and division—an essential skill that your students will use throughout their lives.

Introduction to Matter, the Elements, and Units of Measure

Goldhil Home Media International

Elements and compounds, accuracy and precision, liters and moles and joules-what does it all mean? After introducing the states, properties, and types of matter, this program proceeds to the periodic table of elements and the qualities of atoms, compounds, and molecules. An investigation of the metric system, SI units, uncertainty in measurement, and dimensional analysis wrap up this engaging educational resource. (26 minutes)

Probability

Goldhil Home Media International

What are the odds that a casino card dealer and a pair of Simon and Garfunkel wannabes know something about probability? This program begins by defining probability and sampling, experiments, simple and compound events, and sample space. Next, the formula for finding probability is analyzed, along with the composition of simple and compound events, mutually exclusive events, and complements of events. Finally, dependent and independent conditional events are discussed. (27 minutes)

Sampling Distributions and Large Samples

Goldhil Home Media International

In this program, data derived from a bully convention helps illustrate how statisticians ensure statistical reliability. After describing reliability testing, the mean of a sampling distribution, the Central Limit Theorem, and the standard error of the mean, the focus shifts to point and interval estimators. The subject of confidence intervals-including confidence coefficients, errors of estimation, and upper and lower limits-concludes the program. (26 minutes)

Reading a Ruler: English and Metric Measurements

Charles D. Nordeck

In the first lesson, the different forms of English measurement are discussed and displayed as they would appear on a ruler. The viewer also learns how to understand fractions when measuring and how to find exact measurements using a ruler. The second lesson deals with the metric system by introducing the meter and other metric measurements. Viewers learn how to read a meter stick, and common abbreviations of metric measurements are discussed. Viewers also learn how to convert measurements using the decimal point. A Shopware Production. (18 minutes)

One-Dimensional Kinematics

Goldhil Home Media International

In this program, one-dimensional wonderboy Not-Quite-Bright and other experts investigate the one-dimensional quantities of displacement, average and instantaneous velocity, and average and instantaneous acceleration through skiing, swimming, and speed-walking vignettes. The kinematic equations for instantaneous velocity, displacement, and final velocity are also examined, along with supporting examples. (17 minutes)

Composition Cutlery and the Swatch

Deutsche Grammophon GmbH

Section one of this program examines the prodigious volume of products created by Tapio Wirkkala, including the 1963 cutlery set called Composition-a testimonial to the artist's love of nature, knowledge of ergonomics, and refined sense of taste. In section two, the sensational Swatch-a pop culture phenomenon-is featured, showing how its styling has helped the Swiss watch industry fight Japanese competition while keeping pace with the times. (20 minutes)

Chronobiology: The Time of Our Lives

KCET TV

This program examines the biological evolution of our internal timekeepers, examining the conflict between the time in our bodies and brains and the time on our wrists. It looks at the fish with the most accurate pacemaker known to science; shows how cell cycles are being tracked and biological clocks transplanted; reveals the novel ways in which human biological clocks are being reset; and explains why Greenwich is where time starts, how conversations can be set to music, why some people are larks and others owls, and what causes the Monday morning blahs. (58 minutes)

Using Samples

University of Sheffield Learning Media Unit

This program begins with an explanation of the difference between a Population and a Sample, and the reasons why samples are so important in estimating data relating to populations too large or too impractical to be measured in their entirety. The program emphasizes the need for random samples, explains how several random samples of the same size will vary, and then looks at ways of dealing with this variability, calculating the Standard Error of the Mean, and how to estimate the "95% Confidence Interval." The program goes on to show how, when dealing with quantitative data, you can calculate the size of the sample that is needed in order to achieve the precision required. (20 minutes)

Time and Distance: Precision—The Measure of All Things

Open University

Big Ben was an engineering marvel when it was built, accurate to within one second per hour. By the 19th century, advances in technology had established a reliable unit of distance as well, basing the length of the meter on a portion of the Earth’s circumference rather than on the arm of whichever monarch was in power. In this program, Marcus du Sautoy reviews the history and current status of the meter and the second and explains how their standardization was a boon to both science and the economy. Beginning with cave paintings and ending with the atomic clock, du Sautoy also reveals the role that Henry Ford played in synchronizing the counting of time. Produced by the Open University. A part of the series Precision—The Measure of All Things. (59 minutes)

The Marketing Series 2: The 4 Ps and Beyond

TV Choice Ltd.

This program discusses the 4 elements of the marketing mix: product, price, promotion, and place, presenting a case study to illustrate each.

Taking Measurements: Lab Skills

ClickView Pty Limited

In a science lab, it's important to know how to take accurate measurements. This clip demonstrates how to: measure temperature using a thermometer, use an analytical balance, and measure the volume of a liquid using a measuring cylinder, taking into consideration the meniscus.

Understanding Scientific Measurement

ClickView Pty Limited

Operating on the premise that the physical world can be described by mathematical relationships, this program uses a simple yet powerful series of experiments to study a specific physical phenomenon-the motion of a steel spring. Viewers learn how to construct equations involving dependent variables, independent variables, and known constants in order to predict and measure acceleration and periods of oscillation. Also illustrated are the most effective ways to graph test results and a typical approach for writing a clear and persuasive report on an experiment-including its aim, apparatus, method, results, analysis, evaluation, and conclusion. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. Original title: Measurement and the Search for Relationships: Understanding Scientific Measurement. (20 minutes)

Confidence Intervals: Against All Odds—Inside Statistics

Annenberg Learner

A battery manufacturer tests a sample of its product to verify its claims about battery life. A margin of error and a confidence level help quantify its accuracy.

Measurement and the Search for Relationships

Learn Locker Inc.

Learn how mathematical relationships can be investigated experimentally and how to write the report. This program uses case studies to show how the physical world can be described by mathematical relationships. It specifically demonstrates how an experiment can be designed to test the effect of two independent variables and how mathematical formulae can be derived from experimental measurements. This program also outlines how to prepare a report for an experiment.

Measurement and Ratios

Cerebellum Corporation

This is an extensive tour through the field of measurement. Students will discover ways to calculate speed, area, perimeter, and ratios. It doesn’t stop there, though; we’ll learn how to convert metric and standard mesurements and use strategic thinking to estimate. Grab your ruler and let’s start measuring! Topics include: Measurement, Standards of Measurement, Perimeter, Area, Solid Figures, Ratios, Ratios and Proportions, and Rates.

Asthma Management: Monitoring with a Peak Flow Meter

The Wellness Network

Watch this demonstration of how to use a peak flow meter.

Branches of Statistics: Lecture 1, Part 1

Palomar Community College District

In this video lecture,Professor Naomi Lowe discusses the different branches of statistics and looks at types of variables.

Measurement and the Search for Relationships

Rodney Robert Rees

Presenting a case study, this program teaches how an experiment can be designed to test the effects of two independent variables. It also looks at how mathematical formulas can be derived from experimental measurements.

About Time

Cambridge Educational

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)

The Amazing Mole

ClickView Pty Limited

The discovery of the mole and its relationship to mass, volume, concentration, and number of particles revolutionized science in its day. With stunning graphics and visual metaphors, this program introduces students to this fundamental concept in chemistry, explaining in a step-by-step way the scale of atomic particles, Avogadro's number, moles in reactions, molar mass, and mole formulas. The program is conveniently divided into chapters to facilitate stopping for reviews and exercises. (27 minutes)

How Long Is a Piece of String?

BBC Worldwide Learning

In the spirit of a famous rhetorical question, this program explores the world of scientific measurement at the molecular and atomic level. Host Alan Davies tries to establish the length of a piece of household string—but what appears to be a simple task soon turns into a mind-bending voyage of discovery. After discussing the matter with leading mathematician Marcus du Sautoy, Davies learns that his segment of string may in fact be infinitely long. And when MIT professor of quantum physics Seth Lloyd gets involved, events take an even stranger turn. Not only do objects appear in many places at once, but reality itself becomes a nebulous distortion—in which the humble act of measuring string could, in theory, pull the world into a black hole. A BBC Production. (51 minutes)

Handling Variability

University of Sheffield Learning Media Unit

This program examines the measurement of blood pressure to introduce the idea that multiple measurements may produce very variable results. The idea that measurement "errors," together with fluctuations in the parameters being measured, create variability is followed by an explanation of both Systematic and Random Error and the recognition of the need for statistical techniques to handle this variability in order to allow inferences to be drawn and decisions made. (25 minutes)

Episode 3: Quantum Leap (The Fabric of the Cosmos)

NOVA

Join Brian Greene on a wild ride into the weird realm of quantum physics, which governs the universe on the tiniest of scales. Greene brings quantum mechanics to life in a nightclub like no other, where objects pop in and out of existence and things over here can affect others over there, instantaneously—without anything crossing the space between them. Distributed by PBS Distribution. A part of the series The Fabric of the Cosmos. (60 minutes)

Length

ClickView Pty Limited

Converting between common metric units is an essential skill, which has now become that much easier to teach through this short and succinct Miniclip! Students will learn how simple it is to convert between units of length, including millimeters, centimeters, meters, and kilometers, and will see real-world examples of appropriate units and their corresponding abbreviations.

Scatter Plots and Gym Training

ClickView Pty Limited

In this clip, a series of scatterplots is used to show how regular gym attendance has an effect on variables such as resting heart rate, feelings of well-being, and TV viewing habits. The data is collected through surveys of gym members, and scatterplots are constructed. This clip explores correlation—negative and positive—and lines of best fit.

Survey Data: Collecting and Displaying

ClickView Pty Limited

In this clip, the results of student surveys are collated into tables and means are calculated. Students are asked to rate a music genre from 1 to 5, and in a separate survey are asked to identify their favorite genre from a given list. This resource explores categorical and numerical data, relative frequency, sample size, variation of means, and column graph interpretation.

Measurement and Uncertainty

Learn Locker Inc.

The importance of error and uncertainty in scientific measurement showcases studies of students estimating and reporting the uncertainties in their measurements. The program deals with these questions: why is measurement important in science? Why is uncertainty inevitable in scientific measurements? The importance of multiple measurements and of averaging the results, outliers, how to estimate the range of uncertainty in a measurement, accuracy, and precision, how to manage uncertainty when adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing measurements, and expressing uncertainty in standard form is investigated. The program concludes with a practical exercise: students are shown how to measure the Sun's diameter, and then estimate the uncertainty in their results.

Discovering Math: Advanced—Statistics and Data Analysis: Part 2

Discovery Education

In this Discovering Math video, viewers will consider outliers in data sets, aspects of data interpretation, sampling, and error and uncertainty in statistical inference. Topics include: random samples, biased samples, representative samples, stratified samples, mean, confidence interval, measurement error, misleading data, bias, and data misinterpretation.

Equal Temperament

NVC Arts International

Pythagoras believed that music originates in nature and that natural harmonies express very distinct mathematical relationships between their notes. From Pythagoras’s first scales and the advent of harmony to the standardization of all instruments to equal temperament, this program traces the evolution of the system of tuning that revolutionized Western music. Few musical cultures have escaped its influence, and without it, much of the world’s most beautiful music could not exist. (51 minutes)

Moles, Percent Composition, and the Empirical Formula

Goldhil Home Media International

When is a mole not a mole? Section one of this program demystifies concepts such as Avogadro's Constant, molecular mass, and molar mass. In section two, the Percent Composition Formula is spotlighted, while section three addresses the Empirical Formula and its use in determining formula weight. The calculation of mass in the conversion of magnesium to magnesium oxide in a segment called "Cooking with Professor Rowley" ties things together. (31 minutes)

Light, Heat, and Electricity: Precision—The Measure of All Things

Open University

Because we are able to measure energy, satellites in space can take the temperature of oceans and calculate the thickness of sea ice to within a millimeter’s worth of accuracy. The ability to quantify heat, light, and electricity has transformed our lives, but how did we learn to measure these seeming intangibles with such precision? From lightning bolts and Watt engines to electromagnetic waves and single electrons, this program explores the measurement of light, heat, and electricity. The video also looks at the work of Newton, Herschel, Ampere, and Edison as host Marcus du Sautoy explains how the drive to quantify has led us far into space and inside the atom itself. Produced by the Open University. A part of the series Precision: The Measure of All Things. (59 minutes)

Mass and Moles: Precision—The Measure of All Things

Open University

Locked up in a vault at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures lies what may be the most important lump of metal in the world. The “master kilogram”—or Le Grand K—was created in the 19th century and is still used as the standard on which every other weight is based. But there is a problem with Le Grand K: what should be its unwavering weight has been changing over time. In this program, Marcus du Sautoy charts the history of the measurement of mass, touching on Newton’s contributions, the adoption of the metric system, and the mole, then examines efforts by American and German scientists to redefine mass using a universal constant. A part of the series Precision—The Measure of All Things. (59 minutes)

Psychometrics

Uzma Williams

This video examines the topic of psychometrics, looking at the theory and technique of psychological measurement. It presents an introduction to the topic of psychometrics and discusses the concepts of reliability and validity and their various forms.

Measuring Nanoparticles

ClickView Pty Limited

Nanoparticles are tiny bits of material with a diameter between 1 and 100 nanometers. This clip explores the tiny world of nanoparticles and how their size and structure make them so useful, including the square-cube law and the relationship between volume and surface area. It provides students of middle-to-senior-level science, chemistry, and physics with insights into phenomena at the smallest imaginable scale.