Rocket Science - Episode 2

How can inspirational Mr Smith hang onto Class 8XS's enthusiasm for firework physics and chemistry after their end-of-term display is cancelled? His campaign starts with dramatic flashes and bangs, then in true teacher fashion he sets revision. But this is revision with a difference, and it works a treat. At home, naughty boy Charlie is worried. Four field trips are on offer, but he is going nowhere until he shows Mr Smith he takes science seriously. His mother gets him a chemistry set, and Charlie goes online to research the biggest bang he can get away with in the classroom. The kids finally mount their own triumphant firework display for the retiring head, and we see how practical work makes all the difference. They are involved and excited as they do kitchen chemistry, measure the speed of sound, and even take on the atomic basics of how coloured light is created. To show how firework science connects to the real world, Mr Smith organises field trips to where the chemicals that colour fireworks actually come from. The football boys visit a massive mine in Nevada, are impressed by trucks the size of a four-bedroom house, and get hands-on in a lab extracting copper from ore - and they love it. Mr Smith takes Tash, Liam, Emma and Jake to Scotland where they discover that setting fire to rocks near the village of Strontian (the only place in the UK to have an element named after it) can have a remarkable effect. Back home, Charlie's smoke bomb is too much for Mr Smith, but his hydrogen demonstration goes well, and Charlie is rewarded with a well-earned place on next week's trip to China.