Whether you're at home or at school, you can use BBC Teach for free. Our website is home to thousands of free curriculum-mapped videos, arranged by age-group and subject.
Whether you're at home or at school, you can use BBC Teach for free. Our website is home to thousands of free curriculum-mapped videos, arranged by age-group and subject.
In this vlog style film from the BBC Teach series, Scientists and Scientific Method, Sir Isaac Newton explains how he discovered gravity when an apple fell from a tree and (as legend has it) hit him on the head.
He outlines how he used scientific method and process to think about gravity; questioning why things fall straight down, not sideways or upwards.
He talks about how he carried out his own observations, as well as discussing his famous book on the subject.
The purpose of BBC’s content is to inform, educate and entertain. As such, students, teachers, schools, and other established educational bodies may utilise such content for educational purposes via an ERA Licence.
Without an ERA Licence, reasonable use of the content (for the purposes set out above) may still be possible, however; any such use must be in line with the BBC’s Terms of Use.
Whilst this is not an exhaustive list, when using and or sharing BBC Education content, you must comply with the BBC’s Terms of Use and where relevant, YouTube’s terms and conditions, ensuring that:
there aren’t any advertisements on or around the BBC content;
there aren’t any charges for access and or charges associated with the content (clearly stating that the content is free to access); and
you do not state or imply (in any way) that there is a relationship and or any endorsement from the BBC to you.
We ask that you read the said terms before using any of BBC’s services. When you use BBC’s services and content, you’re agreeing to the BBC’s terms of use.
This film is from the series Wonders of the Universe available on BBC Teach.
Professor Brian Cox explains how evidence for the Big Bang can be found by analysing the colour of starlight.
Astronomers have found that the further away a star or galaxy is, the redder its light appears.
This effect is known as red-shift and it tells us that distant stars are moving away from us.
Scientists interpret this as evidence for an expanding universe.
Teacher Notes
This clip can be used as a starting point to discuss the Big Bang theory.
Pupils can discuss and explain how light unlocks the fact that the light is red-shifted when objects are moving away from us in the universe. It can be used to promote discussion to link red-shift with the Big Bang.
Curriculum Notes
These clips will be relevant for teaching Physics at KS3, GCSE/KS4 and National 4/5 and Higher.
The topics discussed will support OCR, Edexcel, AQA,WJEC GCSE in GCSE in England and Wales, CCEA GCSE in Northern Ireland and SQA National 4/5 and Higher in Scotland.
The purpose of BBC’s content is to inform, educate and entertain. As such, students, teachers, schools, and other established educational bodies may utilise such content for educational purposes via an ERA Licence.
Without an ERA Licence, reasonable use of the content (for the purposes set out above) may still be possible, however; any such use must be in line with the BBC’s Terms of Use.
Whilst this is not an exhaustive list, when using and or sharing BBC Education content, you must comply with the BBC’s Terms of Use and where relevant, YouTube’s terms and conditions, ensuring that:
a) there aren’t any advertisements on or around the BBC content;
b) there aren’t any charges for access and or charges associated with the content (clearly stating that the content is free to
access); and
c) you do not state or imply (in any way) that there is a relationship and or any endorsement from the BBC to you.
We ask that you read the said terms before using any of BBC’s services. When you use BBC’s services and content, you’re agreeing to the BBC’s terms of use.
This film is from the series Little Stargazing available on BBC Teach.
Astronaut, Jeff Hoffman, helps the children launch their very own rockets and describes the feeling of weightlessness.
They then speak to NASA astronaut Bonnie Dunbar over an internet video call.
Bonnie answers their questions about living in space and shows them some amazing videos of astronauts in space.
Teacher Notes
This clip could be used to develop an awareness of space rockets and the work of astronauts.
The class could discuss together how the first men on the moon were part of the Apollo 11 mission, finding out about their rocket, Saturn V, which had three different sections, with a command or service module and a lunar module at the top.
Children could then make an air rocket from a small empty drinks carton.
Ask children to think about what an astronaut needs to be good at and encourage children to find out from books and the internet about how people become astronauts, and about the work they do in space.
Curriculum Notes
This clip will be relevant for teaching Physics or Science Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 in England and Northern Ireland, Key Stage 2 in Wales and First / Second Level in Scotland.
The purpose of BBC’s content is to inform, educate and entertain. As such, students, teachers, schools, and other established educational bodies may utilise such content for educational purposes via an ERA Licence.
Without an ERA Licence, reasonable use of the content (for the purposes set out above) may still be possible, however; any such use must be in line with the BBC’s Terms of Use.
Whilst this is not an exhaustive list, when using and or sharing BBC Education content, you must comply with the BBC’s Terms of Use and where relevant, YouTube’s terms and conditions, ensuring that:
a) there aren’t any advertisements on or around the BBC content;
b) there aren’t any charges for access and or charges associated with the content (clearly stating that the content is free to
access); and
c) you do not state or imply (in any way) that there is a relationship and or any endorsement from the BBC to you.
We ask that you read the said terms before using any of BBC’s services. When you use BBC’s services and content, you’re agreeing to the BBC’s terms of use.
This film is from the series Wave World available on BBC Teach.
Jon Chase joins engineering students at Cambridge University hoping to win a race across Australia in their solar-powered car.
Today they are testing the 110 km/h car on an airfield.
They need as much power as possible, so the team uses solar cells normally used in space to power satellites.
Jon discovers how the cells use light to make electricity.But solar power isn’t all about electricity.
Plants are solar powered. And because we eat plants, this means most of us are solar-powered too.
The substance in plants that captures light energy is called chlorophyll.
Jon experiments with chlorophyll and finds out why green plants are green.
The purpose of BBC’s content is to inform, educate and entertain. As such, students, teachers, schools, and other established educational bodies may utilise such content for educational purposes via an ERA Licence.
Without an ERA Licence, reasonable use of the content (for the purposes set out above) may still be possible, however; any such use must be in line with the BBC’s Terms of Use.
Whilst this is not an exhaustive list, when using and or sharing BBC Education content, you must comply with the BBC’s Terms of Use and where relevant, YouTube’s terms and conditions, ensuring that:
a) there aren’t any advertisements on or around the BBC content;
b) there aren’t any charges for access and or charges associated with the content (clearly stating that the content is free to
access); and
c) you do not state or imply (in any way) that there is a relationship and or any endorsement from the BBC to you.
We ask that you read the said terms before using any of BBC’s services. When you use BBC’s services and content, you’re agreeing to the BBC’s terms of use.
This film is from the series Science Britannica availabel on BBC Teach.
Professor 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.
He recreates Newton’s simple experiment that proved that colours were the pure components of white light, rather than being impurities.
He explains that Newton observed aspects of the world, came up with theories to explain them and then tested them with experiments.
He then looks at Newton’s ‘Principia Mathematica’, before concluding that science is about simplifying the complex world around us, creating controllable and repeatable experiments to test hypotheses, and then transferring understanding to the complex world outside the laboratory.
Teacher Notes
Before showing this film, ask your students to share and write down in groups what they already know about Sir Isaac Newton.
During the film, students should write brief notes to explain the contribution that Newton made to the nature of science and scientific enquiry.
Curriculum Notes
This film will be relevant for teaching physics at KS3, GCSE/KS4 and National 4/5 and Higher.
The topics discussed will support OCR, Edexcel, AQA,WJEC GCSE in GCSE in England and Wales, CCEA GCSE in Northern Ireland and SQA National 4/5 and Higher in Scotland.
The purpose of BBC’s content is to inform, educate and entertain. As such, students, teachers, schools, and other established educational bodies may utilise such content for educational purposes via an ERA Licence.
Without an ERA Licence, reasonable use of the content (for the purposes set out above) may still be possible, however; any such use must be in line with the BBC’s Terms of Use.
Whilst this is not an exhaustive list, when using and or sharing BBC Education content, you must comply with the BBC’s Terms of Use and where relevant, YouTube’s terms and conditions, ensuring that:
a) there aren’t any advertisements on or around the BBC content;
b) there aren’t any charges for access and or charges associated with the content (clearly stating that the content is free to
access); and
c) you do not state or imply (in any way) that there is a relationship and or any endorsement from the BBC to you.
We ask that you read the said terms before using any of BBC’s services. When you use BBC’s services and content, you’re agreeing to the BBC’s terms of use.
This film is from the series Materials: How They Work available on BBC Teach.
Materials scientist, Mark Miodownik describes the discovery of graphene.
It’s the toughest material we know: 200 times stronger than steel, and able to carry electricity at 1 million metres per second.
It was discovered in 2004 by the Noble Prize winning duo, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, from the University of Manchester.
Mark meets Andre Geim who explains some of the properties of his discovery.
Teacher Notes
This clip can be used as a stimulus for research into new materials and designer polymers and alloys.
Students can begin by researching the uses of graphene
Then other examples of new materials such as smart alloys, water absorbing polymers, super strong magnets and hydrophobic sand can be demonstrated and their properties investigated.
Students can suggest a use for an ideal material which fill a gap in the market and then make suggestions as to how it can be filled.
Curriculum Notes
This clip will be relevant for teaching Chemistry at KS3 and GCSE Level. This topic appears in OCR, Edexcel, AQA, WJEC in England and Wales, CCEA GCSE in Northern Ireland and SQA National 4 and 5 in Scotland.
The purpose of BBC’s content is to inform, educate and entertain. As such, students, teachers, schools, and other established educational bodies may utilise such content for educational purposes via an ERA Licence.
Without an ERA Licence, reasonable use of the content (for the purposes set out above) may still be possible, however; any such use must be in line with the BBC’s Terms of Use.
Whilst this is not an exhaustive list, when using and or sharing BBC Education content, you must comply with the BBC’s Terms of Use and where relevant, YouTube’s terms and conditions, ensuring that:
a) there aren’t any advertisements on or around the BBC content;
b) there aren’t any charges for access and or charges associated with the content (clearly stating that the content is free to
access); and
c) you do not state or imply (in any way) that there is a relationship and or any endorsement from the BBC to you.
We ask that you read the said terms before using any of BBC’s services. When you use BBC’s services and content, you’re agreeing to the BBC’s terms of use.
This film is from the series The Science of a Space Dive available on BBC Teach.
In 2012, Austrian dare devil, Felix Baumgartner, performed a record-breaking and historic skydive from the stratosphere to land in New Mexico
Baumgartner’s team had to anticipate the risks of falling from high altitude.
Their biggest fear was, that as Felix fell, he could become locked in a flat spin and lose consciousness. A flat spin could have been caused by his body becoming aerodynamically unbalanced, sending him into a rotation that he might not be able to escape. If his head was at the centre of the spin, the g-force would pull the blood out of his brain, causing a blackout. If his feet were at the centre of the spin, the blood would pool in his head, causing a red-out or an aneurysm.
Teacher Notes
The clip could be used to stimulate a discussions about gravity, free fall, air resistance and terminal velocity. Can they think of any other times when these dangers need to be overcome?
Curriculum Notes
This clip could be relevant to teaching Science at KS3 and KS4 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and at National 4/5 or Higher in Scotland.
The purpose of BBC’s content is to inform, educate and entertain. As such, students, teachers, schools, and other established educational bodies may utilise such content for educational purposes via an ERA Licence.
Without an ERA Licence, reasonable use of the content (for the purposes set out above) may still be possible, however; any such use must be in line with the BBC’s Terms of Use.
Whilst this is not an exhaustive list, when using and or sharing BBC Education content, you must comply with the BBC’s Terms of Use and where relevant, YouTube’s terms and conditions, ensuring that:
a) there aren’t any advertisements on or around the BBC content;
b) there aren’t any charges for access and or charges associated with the content (clearly stating that the content is free to
access); and
c) you do not state or imply (in any way) that there is a relationship and or any endorsement from the BBC to you.
We ask that you read the said terms before using any of BBC’s services. When you use BBC’s services and content, you’re agreeing to the BBC’s terms of use.