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KS2 Science: The work of Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov

Video summary

This vlog style film introduces two Russian scientists, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, working at Manchester University.

They talk about the experiment they were carrying out when they accidentally discovered the process for extracting an amazing material called graphene in 2004.

They talk about their scientific method and hypothesis, and how, by stripping away layers of graphite with strips of sticky tape, they made their discovery.

They talk about how they carried out the experiment by examining the sticky tape under a microscope, to see the flakes of graphite and noticed there were layers of different thicknesses.

They repeated the experiment over and over again until the graphite was one layer thick.

They explain how Graphene has many unusual properties.

We learn that they were awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering research.

This clip is from the series Scientists and their discoveries.

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Teacher Notes

As a starter to introduce a practical science activity, you could write a simple quiz to encourage pupils to capture the keywords shown in the video.

Pupils can write their own definitions from these words using the internet or science dictionaries to improve their scientific vocabularies.

To consolidate their knowledge, you could get pupils to make booklets that include key information about the work of Sir Issac Newton.

They could define the keywords featured in the film, and find five or more pieces of additional pieces of information about the work of the scientists using books, encyclopedias or the internet.

Suitable for teaching Science at Key Stage 2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and at 2nd Level in Scotland. They also have cross-curricular links with History and Literacy.

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