Science KS3/4: Science Britannica

Brian Cox explores the scientific method and 350 years of British science that has helped shape the world.

Below you'll find short films suitable for teaching physics, chemistry and bilogy at KS3 & KS4/GCSE level. Appears in AQA, OCR, EDEXCEL, CCEA, WJEC, SQA.

Physics

How CERN helps us understand the Big Bang
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How CERN helps us understand the Big Bang

Professor Brian Cox visits CERN to find out about the experiments that are being done at the Large Hadron Collider to explore the moments immediately after the Big Bang.

Sir Isaac Newton and the scientific method
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Sir Isaac Newton and the scientific method

Brian Cox outlines the historical context of the era in which Newton began to be interested in the nature of the visible spectrum obtained using a prism.

John Tyndall and blue skies research
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John Tyndall and blue skies research

Brian Cox describes the work of John Tyndall and his attempts to explain what makes the sky blue and the sunset red.

Chemistry

Who was Henry Cavendish?
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Who was Henry Cavendish?

Professor Brian Cox introduces Henry Cavendish, the 18th Century scientist who investigated hydrogen, came up with the formula H20 and founded the Royal Institution.

Who was Humphry Davy?
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Who was Humphry Davy?

Brian Cox follows in the footsteps of 19th Century chemist Humphry Davy, recreating one of his explosive experiments that he used to impress the crowds at the Royal Institution.

William Perkin and making scientific discoveries by chance
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William Perkin and making scientific discoveries by chance

Brian Cox uses William Perkin's discovery of mauveine to explain how scientific discoveries are sometimes made by chance.

Biology

Targeted research
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Targeted research

Brian Cox learns about targeted research in the modern pharmaceutical industry and how by focusing only on positive results, it fails to report negative results.

Global warming resistant GM crops
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Global warming resistant GM crops

Brian Cox outlines the history of the discovery of DNA and how this has led to a controversy over the use of genetic modification in agriculture.

John Hunter and public engagement in science
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John Hunter and public engagement in science

Brian Cox describes how John Hunter pushed the boundaries of medicine using corpses obtained from grave-robbing and how he set up a museum to open minds about medical research.