Models you can move.
135 models: 97 interactive models and 38 animations. Each one sits on its lesson; open it here to go straight to it. Values in the models are illustrative.
Year 7
Working scientifically
- WS.3 · Bunsen burners
Bunsen burner flames
Open the air hole: the flame turns from yellow and sooty to a hot roaring blue.
Open the animation - WS.5 · Scientific investigations: independent, dependent and control variables
Fair test: a pendulum
Change one variable at a time and see which one changes the time for a swing.
Open the model - WS.9 · Recording data
Results table and line of best fit
Add readings to a table and watch the graph and its best-fit line build up.
Open the model - WS.10 · Analysing data
Line of best fit and an anomaly
Fit a line to bounce heights by eye and spot the result that does not fit.
Open the model - WS.11 · Evaluating data
Repeat readings and the mean
Repeat a reaction-time test: readings scatter but the mean settles down.
Open the model
Biology
- B1.5 · Movement of substances
Diffusion across a cell membrane
Particles move randomly through a membrane until both sides are equal; warmer is faster.
Open the modelAlso in: B5.6 Diffusion in living systems
- B1.10 · Breathing
Bell-jar model of breathing
The diaphragm moves down, volume rises, pressure falls and air flows into the lungs.
Open the animation - B1.14 · The heart and circulation
Double circulation
Follow blood through the heart, lungs and body, and see where it picks up and gives up oxygen.
Open the animation - B1.9 · Gas exchange
Gas exchange in an alveolus
Oxygen diffuses into the blood and carbon dioxide out; breathing and blood flow keep the gradients steep.
Open the model - B1.13 · Movement: muscles
Antagonistic muscles at the elbow
The biceps and triceps take turns to contract as the arm bends and straightens.
Open the animation - B1.2 · Observing cells
Using a light microscope
Focus on onion cells and change objective: higher power, smaller field of view.
Open the model - B1.6 · Unicellular organisms
Amoeba and euglena
An amoeba engulfs food with pseudopodia; a euglena swims towards light.
Open the animation - B1.12 · Movement: joints
Joints and movement
Hinge, ball and socket and fixed joints and how far each lets bones move.
Open the animation - B2.2 · Making plastics
Polymerisation: monomers join into a chain
Ethene or chloroethene monomers open their double bonds and join into a long polymer chain.
Open the animation - B2.4 · How does recycling work?
How recycling works
Mixed recycling on a conveyor: a magnet, an eddy current and air jets sort steel, aluminium and paper.
Open the animation - B2.7 · Slime investigation
Slime: cross-linking polymer chains
Add borax to PVA: more cross-links tie the chains together and the slime gets stiffer.
Open the animation
Chemistry
- C1.15 · Solutions
Dissolving sugar in water
Sugar particles spread between water particles; temperature, stirring and grain size change the rate, and no mass is lost.
Open the model - C1.18 · Evaporation and distillation
Simple distillation
Boil salty or inky water, condense the steam and collect pure water; the thermometer stays at 100 °C.
Open the animationAlso in: C6.5 Distillation
- C1.19 · Chromatography
Paper chromatography
Dyes rise different distances with the solvent; match spots and work out Rf values.
Open the modelAlso in: C6.6 Chromatography
- C2.9 · Climate change
The greenhouse effect
Carbon dioxide absorbs infrared from the warm ground; more carbon dioxide, a warmer Earth.
Open the model - C1.2 · States of matter
Particles in solids, liquids and gases
Heat or cool a substance and watch how its particles are arranged and move.
Open the animationAlso in: C1.1 The particle model, C1.8 Using the particle model, C6.1 States of matter
- C1.3 · Melting and freezing
Heating curve of water
Temperature stays flat while ice melts and while water boils.
Open the modelAlso in: C1.4 Boiling, C1.5 More changes of state, C6.2 Diffusion and changes of state
- C1.6 · Diffusion
Diffusion in a liquid
A drop of dye spreads through water, faster when it is warmer.
Open the modelAlso in: C6.2 Diffusion and changes of state
- C1.7 · Gas pressure
Gas pressure in a sealed syringe
Smaller volume or higher temperature means more collisions with the walls.
Open the modelAlso in: P3.5 Pressure in gases
- C2.5 · The rock cycle
The rock cycle
Follow rock as it is weathered, deposited, buried, heated, melted and lifted.
Open the animationAlso in: C2.7 Explaining the rock cycle
- C2.8 · Carbon cycle
The carbon cycle
Follow carbon through photosynthesis, respiration, feeding, decay and combustion.
Open the animation - C1.9 · Atoms
Build an atom
Add protons, neutrons and electrons: element, mass number, isotopes and ions.
Open the modelAlso in: C6.7 Atomic structure
- C1.11 · Compounds and molecules
Atoms join to make molecules
Bonds break and atoms rearrange to make water, carbon dioxide and hydrogen chloride.
Open the animation - C1.13 · Chemical formulae and balancing
Balancing equations
Change the numbers in front of each formula until the atoms match on both sides.
Open the modelAlso in: C5.7 Balancing equations
- C1.16 · Solubility
Solubility curves
How much dissolves at each temperature, and the crystals that form on cooling.
Open the model - C1.17 · Filtration
Filtration and crystallisation
Sand stays in the filter paper; evaporating the filtrate leaves salt crystals.
Open the animationAlso in: C6.4 Filtration and crystallisation
- C2.1 · The Earth
Inside the Earth
Step through the crust, mantle, outer core and inner core: depth, state and temperature.
Open the animation - C2.2 · The atmosphere
How the atmosphere changed
Move through 4.5 billion years: carbon dioxide falls, nitrogen builds up and oxygen appears.
Open the model - C2.3 · Sedimentary rocks
Sedimentary rock forming
Grains settle in layers, biggest first, then compaction and cementation make rock.
Open the animation - C2.4 · Igneous and metamorphic rocks
Crystal size and cooling rate
Cool magma deep underground or as lava and see how cooling rate sets crystal size.
Open the model - C2.10 · Global warming
Carbon dioxide and global temperature
Plot measured carbon dioxide against global temperature year by year since 1960.
Open the model - C2.11 · Recycling
Recycling makes resources last
Change the recycling rate and see how much longer a finite ore reserve lasts.
Open the model
Physics
- P1.8 · Balanced and unbalanced forces
Balanced and unbalanced forces on a car
Change the driving force and the surface; the car speeds up until air resistance balances the driving force.
Open the model - P1.11 · The Solar System
The Solar System
The planets orbit the Sun; the further out, the longer the year.
Open the animation - P1.12 · The Earth
Seasons and day length
The tilted Earth orbits the Sun; day length changes through the year and with latitude.
Open the animation - P1.2 · Squashing and stretching
Stretching a spring
Add weights and measure the extension.
Open the model - P1.5 · Air resistance and egg drop
Falling with air resistance
Drag grows with speed until it balances weight: terminal velocity.
Open the modelAlso in: P1.6 Air resistance and egg drop: improving a design, P6.10 Terminal velocity and falling objects
- P1.13 · The Moon
Phases of the Moon
The Moon orbits the Earth; we see different amounts of its lit half.
Open the animation - P1.1 · Introduction to forces
Force arrows and the resultant force
Add two forces in a line or at an angle and see the resultant force and the acceleration it gives.
Open the modelAlso in: P6.1 Scalar and vector quantities
- P1.4 · Drag forces and friction
Friction on different surfaces
Push a block across ice, wood, carpet and sandpaper and see how far it slides before friction stops it.
Open the model - P1.7 · Forces at a distance
Forces at a distance
Magnets, charges and masses: move them apart and watch the force get weaker.
Open the model - P1.10 · The night sky
The night sky turning
Watch the Plough and Cassiopeia circle the Pole Star through the night as the Earth spins.
Open the animation
Year 8
Biology
- B3.6 · The digestive system: absorption
Diffusion through visking tubing
Glucose passes through the tiny holes; starch is too big.
Open the model - B3.7 · Bacteria and enzymes in digestion
Enzyme activity and pH
Amylase, pepsin and trypsin each have their own optimum pH.
Open the model - B3.8 · Investigating enzymes in digestion
Enzyme activity and temperature
Rate rises to an optimum near 37 °C, then falls steeply as the enzyme denatures.
Open the model - B3.9 · Flowers and pollination
Life cycle of a flowering plant
Step through pollination, fertilisation, seed dispersal and germination.
Open the animationAlso in: B3.11 Fertilisation and germination
- B3.5 · The digestive system: organs
The journey through the digestive system
Follow food from mouth to anus and see which enzymes act where.
Open the animation - B3.1 · Nutrients
Nutrients in food
Compare carbohydrate, protein, fat and fibre in 100 g of different foods.
Open the model - B3.4 · Healthy and unhealthy diets
Energy in, energy out
Change the energy eaten and the activity level and watch body mass change over 12 weeks.
Open the model - B3.10 · Flower structure and pollination
Pollination by insects
A bee carries pollen to another flower, then a pollen tube grows to an ovule.
Open the animation - B3.12 · Investigating germination
What do seeds need to germinate?
Five tubes of seeds: take away water, warmth, oxygen or light and see which germinate.
Open the model - B3.13 · Seed dispersal
Seed dispersal by wind
Dandelion, sycamore and acorn seeds in the wind: slower falling seeds travel further.
Open the model
Chemistry
- C4.5 · Conservation of mass
Conservation of mass
Marble chips and acid in an open flask and a sealed bottle on a balance.
Open the model - C4.8 · Indicators and pH
Indicators and pH
See the universal indicator colour for each pH.
Open the model - C4.9 · Neutralisation
Neutralisation
Add alkali to acid drop by drop and watch the pH change.
Open the model - C3.2 · Groups and periods
The periodic table: groups and periods
Highlight a group, a period or the metals and non-metals, and read about each element.
Open the model - C3.3 · The elements of Group 1
Group 1 metals with water
Lithium, sodium and potassium in water: more reactive down the group, with real melting points.
Open the animationAlso in: C6.9 Group 1 metals
- C3.4 · The elements of Group 7
Halogen displacement
Add chlorine, bromine or iodine water to halide solutions and see which displaces which.
Open the animation - C4.1 · Chemical reactions
Signs of a chemical reaction
Mix pairs of substances and look for fizzing, colour change, a precipitate and a temperature change.
Open the animation - C4.3 · Burning fuels
Combustion: burning fuels
Watch the atoms in methane and oxygen rearrange into carbon dioxide and water, with and without enough oxygen.
Open the animation - C4.4 · Thermal decomposition
Thermal decomposition of copper carbonate
Heat green copper carbonate: it turns black, limewater goes milky and the mass falls to about 64%.
Open the model - C4.6 · Exothermic and endothermic reactions
Exothermic and endothermic reactions
Energy-level diagrams and temperature changes for reactions that give out or take in energy.
Open the modelAlso in: C5.8 Energy-level diagrams
- C4.10 · Acid strength
Strong and weak, concentrated and dilute
Particle pictures and pH for strong and weak acids at two concentrations.
Open the animation - C4.11 · Making salts
Making a salt
Step through making a salt from an acid and a metal oxide, and name the salt.
Open the animation
Physics
- P2.5 · Echoes and ultrasound
Echoes and the speed of sound
Time an echo from a wall in air or the sea bed in water and work out the distance.
Open the model - P2.12 · The eye and the camera
The pinhole camera
Light travels in straight lines through the pinhole to make a small, upside-down image.
Open the model - P2.13 · Colour
Colour filters and coloured objects
Filters transmit some colours of light; objects reflect some colours and absorb the rest.
Open the model - P3.6 · Pressure in liquids
Pressure in liquids
Water squirts furthest from the deepest hole: pressure increases with depth.
Open the model - P4.2 · Energy adds up
Energy stores of a bouncing ball
Gravitational, kinetic and thermal stores as a ball falls and bounces; the total stays the same.
Open the model - P2.1 · Waves
Transverse waves
Change amplitude and frequency; the wave carries energy, not the water.
Open the animation - P2.3 · Amplitude and frequency
Sound waves and the oscilloscope
Air particles vibrate back and forth; louder means bigger amplitude, higher pitch means higher frequency.
Open the modelAlso in: P2.2 Sound and energy transfer
- P2.9 · Investigating reflection
The law of reflection
Angle of incidence equals angle of reflection.
Open the modelAlso in: P2.8 Reflection
- P2.11 · Investigating refraction
Refraction through a block
Light bends towards the normal entering glass or water, and away from it leaving.
Open the modelAlso in: P2.10 Refraction
- P3.4 · Investigating speed
Distance–time graphs
Change the speed and see the gradient of the graph change.
Open the modelAlso in: P3.2 Motion graphs: distance and time, P3.3 Motion graphs: interpreting journeys
- P3.8 · Turning forces
Balancing moments
Clockwise and anticlockwise moments balance.
Open the model - P4.1 · Food and fuels
Energy in food
Burn a food and measure the temperature rise of water.
Open the model - P4.3 · Energy and temperature
Heating water
Energy transferred, mass and temperature rise.
Open the model - P4.4 · Energy transfer by particles
Comparing conductors
Heat travels faster along a metal rod than a wooden one.
Open the model - P4.5 · Energy transfer by radiation
Radiation and insulation
Compare how quickly insulated and uninsulated beakers cool.
Open the model - P2.4 · Detecting sound
How we hear
Follow a sound through the eardrum, ossicles and cochlea to the nerve; change the pitch.
Open the animation - P2.6 · Investigating the speed of sound
Measuring the speed of sound
Two microphones and a fast timer: record readings and find the speed from a graph.
Open the model - P2.7 · Light
Light travels in straight lines: shadows
Move an opaque, translucent or transparent object between a lamp and a screen.
Open the model - P3.1 · Speed
Speed: distance and time
Race a walker, runner and cyclist over 100 m and compare their distance–time graphs.
Open the model - P3.7 · Pressure on solids
Pressure on solids
Heels, trainers or snowshoes: the same weight on a different area gives a different pressure.
Open the model - P4.6 · Energy dissipation
Sankey diagrams and efficiency
Choose a device and an efficiency and see the useful and wasted energy as arrow widths.
Open the model - P4.7 · Energy resources
From energy resource to electricity
Follow energy from gas, nuclear, wind or hydroelectric power through the turbine and generator to the grid.
Open the animation - P4.10 · Energy and power
Energy and power
Energy = power × time for household appliances, in joules, kilowatt-hours and pence.
Open the model - P4.11 · Work, energy and machines
Simple machines: levers and pulleys
Levers and pulleys reduce the effort needed, but the effort moves further: the work done is the same.
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Year 9
Biology
- B4.3 · Investigating photosynthesis
Photosynthesis and light intensity
Move a lamp and count oxygen bubbles; find the limiting factor.
Open the modelAlso in: B4.1 Photosynthesis
- B4.8 · Disruption to food chains and webs
Predator and prey populations
Rabbit and fox numbers rise and fall in linked cycles.
Open the modelAlso in: B4.7 Food chains and food webs
- B4.5 · Aerobic respiration
Aerobic respiration and exercise
Exercise harder and watch heart rate and breathing rate rise.
Open the model - B4.6 · Anaerobic respiration
Anaerobic respiration and oxygen debt
Sprint to build lactic acid and repay the oxygen debt; count the bubbles from fermenting yeast.
Open the model - B4.9 · Ecosystems
Estimating a population with quadrats
Place random quadrats, find the mean per square metre and scale up to the field.
Open the model - B4.15 · Natural selection
Natural selection in peppered moths
Birds eat the moths they can see, so the better-camouflaged colour becomes more common.
Open the model - B5.7 · Osmosis and active transport
Osmosis in cells
Water crosses the membrane towards the more concentrated solution; cells swell, burst, go turgid or plasmolyse.
Open the model - B5.8 · Investigating osmosis
Osmosis in potato cylinders
Percentage change in mass against sucrose concentration; read off where it crosses zero.
Open the model - B4.2 · Leaves
Gas exchange in a leaf
Stomata open in the light and close in the dark: watch carbon dioxide, oxygen and water vapour move in and out over a day.
Open the animation - B4.4 · Plant minerals
Plant minerals and deficiency
Grow plants with all minerals or without nitrate, magnesium, phosphate or potassium and compare the symptoms.
Open the model - B4.10 · Competition and adaptation
Competition for resources
Two species share a limited resource: change how much they overlap and see whether both survive.
Open the model - B4.11 · Adapting to change
Adapting to a changing environment
Warm the climate and see whether insects, birds or trees can adapt fast enough.
Open the model - B4.12 · Variation
Variation in a sample
Measure a random sample of students and build a histogram; bigger samples give a smoother bell shape.
Open the model - B4.13 · Continuous and discontinuous variation
Continuous and discontinuous variation
Compare histograms for height or pulse with bar charts for blood group or rhesus factor.
Open the model - B4.14 · Inheritance
Inheritance: from body to DNA
Zoom from a person to a cell, nucleus, chromosome, gene and DNA base pairs.
Open the animation - B4.16 · Extinction
Extinction and habitat loss
Remove habitat and add hunting pressure to see when a population can no longer recover.
Open the model - B5.2 · The five kingdoms of life
Classifying living things
Follow a key using cell evidence to sort a tree, a worm, a mushroom, yeast, an amoeba, Chlorella, a bacterium and a virus.
Open the model - B5.3 · Cells and organelles
Cells and their organelles
Tour the parts of animal, plant and bacterial cells, what each part does and how big the cells are.
Open the model - B5.5 · Organ systems
Organ systems
Follow food, blood, air or a nerve impulse through the body and climb from cell to tissue, organ, organ system and organism.
Open the animation
Chemistry
- C5.5 · Metal displacement reactions
Metal displacement reactions
A more reactive metal displaces a less reactive one from its sulfate solution.
Open the animation - C6.8 · Electronic configuration
Electron shells
Add electrons one at a time and fill the shells 2, 8, 8 for the first 20 elements.
Open the model - C5.10 · Collision theory and temperature
Collision theory
Only collisions with enough energy react; temperature and concentration change how many there are.
Open the modelAlso in: C5.11 Surface area and concentration
- C5.1 · Acids and metals
Metals reacting with acid
Collect hydrogen from magnesium, zinc, iron and copper in hydrochloric acid and compare the rates.
Open the model - C5.3 · Metals and oxygen
Metals and oxygen
Heat magnesium, zinc, copper or gold in a crucible and track the mass gained from oxygen.
Open the model - C5.6 · Extracting metals
Extracting metals
Pick a metal from the reactivity series to see whether it is extracted by electrolysis, by heating with carbon, or found native.
Open the model - C5.9 · Bond energies
Bond energies
Add up the energy to break bonds and the energy released making bonds to find the overall energy change.
Open the model - C5.13 · Polymers
Polymer chains and cross-links
Heat thermosoftening and thermosetting plastics and see why cross-links stop them softening.
Open the animation - C6.3 · Elements, compounds and mixtures
Elements, compounds and mixtures
Look at the particles in eight samples and decide whether each is an element, a compound or a mixture.
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Physics
- P5.1 · Charging up
Charging by rubbing
Rubbing moves electrons onto a balloon; like charges repel and opposite charges attract.
Open the model - P5.6 · Magnets and magnetic fields
Plotting a magnetic field
Step a plotting compass from the north pole to the south pole to draw a field line.
Open the model - P6.11 · Braking and impact forces
Stopping distances
Thinking distance plus braking distance, for different speeds, reaction times and road conditions.
Open the model - P5.2 · Circuits and current
Current in a circuit
Build a circuit and measure the current.
Open the model - P5.3 · Potential difference
Potential difference
Measure the potential difference across components.
Open the model - P5.4 · Series and parallel circuits
Series and parallel circuits
Compare current and brightness in series and parallel.
Open the model - P5.5 · Resistance
Resistance of a wire
Longer wire, more resistance.
Open the model - P5.7 · Electromagnets
Strength of an electromagnet
More coils, more current or an iron core make a stronger electromagnet.
Open the modelAlso in: P5.8 Using electromagnets
- P6.4 · Hooke’s law: force and extension
Hooke’s law
Find the spring constant from the gradient.
Open the model - P6.5 · Hooke’s law: elastic behaviour
Elastic limit
Stretch past the elastic limit and the spring stays longer.
Open the model - P6.7 · Investigating motion
Investigating motion
Distance–time and velocity–time graphs for an accelerating trolley.
Open the model - P6.3 · Weight, mass and gravity
Weight on other worlds
Take the same mass to the Moon, Mars or Jupiter: mass stays the same, weight W = mg changes and dropped objects fall at different rates.
Open the model - P6.6 · Speed, distance, time and acceleration
Acceleration down a ramp
Release a trolley down a ramp: two light gates measure its speed, and a = (v − u) ÷ t; steeper ramps and smoother surfaces give bigger accelerations.
Open the model - P6.9 · Acceleration and SUVAT
SUVAT with a moving car
Set u, a and t for a car with constant acceleration and check v = u + at, s = ut + ½at² and v² = u² + 2as.
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