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Tough zirconium - but what's its secret side?

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A cartoon model of zirconium with face and arms
Tough zirconium - but what's its secret side?

SUBJECTS:  Science

YEARS:  3–4


The element zirconium is often used for its tough, abrasive properties.

It also has a secret side.

View this clip (developed by students for the 2013 Sleek Geeks Eureka Science Schools Prize competition), which highlights the properties and uses of zirconium in a highly visual and fun way.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Materials are made of different kinds of substances. They have different properties, such as being solid, liquid or gas, being rough or smooth, soft or hard or somewhere in between. Zirconium is the kind of substance called an element. Elements cannot be broken down into other substances. Copper and silver are elements too. What other elements do you know? What are they used for?
  2. 2.What are the 'tough' things about zirconium? What is its secret side? As you watch, note the different ways information is presented. For example, is the way music is used helpful or not?
  3. 3.What is the shorthand (symbol) for zirconium? Design a summary of the things about zirconium (its properties) that make it useful. Cubic zirconia, CZ, is called 'a common fake diamond' in the clip. What is the difference between a fake diamond and a real one? What's your favourite part of the video? Why? Do you think that the starting question about zirconium has an answer?
  4. 4.In the clip, the 'address' of zirconium is number 40, Periodic table. What does this mean? Is it useful to have an 'address' like this? Explain. Zirconium is called a 'trusted metal workhorse of industry'. What does that mean? Investigate another element or kind of material. Create an illustrated story (or a storyboard for a video) about it. Explain what makes the element useful. If you were making a video, what music would you use, if any?

Acknowledgements


This film was made by Tyler Hite and Jarrod Ebdon. It was highly commended in the 2013 University of Sydney Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize, Primary. The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes reward excellence in research & innovation, leadership & commercialisation, science communication & journalism and school science. More information is available here.



Production Date: 2013


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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