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Atoms of Fire: Chemical products that change our lives

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Atoms of Fire: Chemical products that change our lives

SUBJECTS:  Science, Technologies

YEARS:  9–10


Travel back one hundred years in time to observe the technologies that people were using and to consider the technologies that had have yet to be invented.

View the types of new substances that were invented by chemists during the last century.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Science and technology have come a long way over the last century. What kinds of inventions have changed travel, communication and entertainment? Plastic is one kind of synthetic material developed by chemists. Can you think of other synthetic materials?
  2. 2.Observe the different kinds of technology that were being used over 100 years ago. The narrator makes the claim that the last 200 years were the most important in history. Listen for at least five points he makes to support his claim. What type of chemistry does he say is responsible for the greatest changes?
  3. 3.Consider the changes due to chemistry that became possible over the last 200 years. Respond to the claim made that the last 200 years were the most important in history. Provide evidence to support your view.
  4. 4.

    Organic chemistry has led to new products being made — those developed from crude oil and natural gas, for example. Think of ten things you use or rely on each day. Find out what they are made from or what they need to make them work. Chances are they have some connection to crude oil. Make a statement about the level to which your life is impacted by advances in chemistry.



Date of broadcast: 13 Aug 2001


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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