Teach Exciting Physics Practicals

Pupils struggle with ideas they can't see, like air pressure pushing a drink up a straw or inertia keeping a plate still. A good demonstration turns the idea into something they've watched happen, and ideally something that surprised them.

There are 11 physics practicals here, filmed step by step with the safety points for each. Challenge a pupil to blow up a balloon in a bottle, then beat them with a bottle that has a hole they can't see. Pull a tablecloth from under a plate of baked beans. Boil water in a paper box, launch a burning teabag, and pick up tips for coaxing sparks out of a temperamental Van de Graaff.

Each one comes with the physics behind it, and the odd trap to avoid, such as an oscilloscope making sound look like a transverse wave.