Science / Year 9 / Science as a Human Endeavour / Use and influence of science

• TLF-IDM020606

Have you ever looked at tall buildings or massive bridges and wondered what keeps them standing? Or have you wondered why these structures have been designed the way they have? Alexandra Devlin is a civil and environmental engineering student at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and these are the questions that ...

• TLF-IDM019963

Dr Paul Fraser has been part of the Greenhouse Gas team at the CSIRO for over 40 years. His team measures the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, by taking and analysing air samples from different locations around the world. Paul explains that there are a number of versions of carbon dioxide, made up of different isomers ...

• TLF-IDM021497

A series of articles about vaccination and immunisation including: explanations on so-called ‘herd immunity’; myth-busting; the research on the claims made by those who are anti-vaccination; and case studies of immunisation against polio, small pox, HIV, influenza, measles, and others. Each article is about 600-800 words.The ...

• TLF-IDM015661

How might filling your printer with paper be affecting the survival of tigers? Watch this compelling clip to find out about the plight of Sumatran tigers in the wild, and explore the connection between them and paper mills. You will also discover how product labels might not always tell the complete story.

• TLF-IDM015758

How do we balance protecting the environment and allowing mining-related activities near World Heritage listed areas? In this clip you will see underwater footage of marine life on the Great Barrier Reef and images of liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing and shipping operations on the Queensland coast. Listen to the issues ...

• TLF-IDM015968

Did you know that Australia is the most flammable continent on Earth? Watch this clip to discover how bushfires impact natural ecosystems, and how the increasing global threat of bushfires may affect Australia. Australian scientists explain the ecological consequences of fire and a US expert describes his concerns for the future.

• TLF-IDM015218

This is a video clip of a TEDMED speaker, Howard Shapiro, presenting ideas about improving the nutritional value of plants to address malnutrition and the food requirements of a growing world population. The clip emphasises that poor nutrition has negative health and developmental effects on children, particularly those ...

• TLF-IDL5826

Investigate the internal structure of the Earth using earthquake measurements. Examine the Earth’s outer layer. Fit the Earth's tectonic plates together like a jigsaw puzzle. Identify how plate movements produce many features of the Earth’s surface. Predict the formation of new volcanic islands. This learning object is ...

• TLF-IDM016200

An interview with Professor Richard Wiseman, magician and psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK. Richard talks to a teacher from Strathfield Girls High School about the connection between psychology and magic, and his work as a psychologist investigating quirkology, the science of everyday life.

• TLF-IDM016341

This ABC In Depth feature article explores the electric car as an alternative to petrol and diesel vehicles, with a brief reference to hydrogen powered cars. This article is comprehensive, but it is dated at 2008.