Snooker Nina and the Neurons

# If you've got a question and you don't know where to go

# Ask Nina for some help Cos she's got a science show

# She makes sense of her senses While helping all her fans

# By doing her experiments with potions and with bangs

-# Touch your tongue

-Tongue

-# Fingers

-Fingers

-# Eyes

-Eyes

-Ears

-Ears

-# Nose

-Nose

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Luke he helps us with our eyes and Felix with our touch

# Ollie sniffs out smells and scents and Belle she hears so much

# Bud is Ollie's brother he helps us with our taste

# They're Nina's little Neurons and they're coming to your place

-# Touch your tongue

-Tongue

-# Fingers

-Fingers

-# Eyes

-Eyes

-Ears

-Ears

-# Nose

-Nose

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know, yeah!

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Oh, yeah! #

Click-click, click-click,

click-click...

Hello there! Oh!

This is such a fun experiment.

Look what happens when I do this.

Hey. See the ball moves

at the other end

but the balls in the middle

hardly move at all.

It's brilliant, isn't it?

BEEPING

I hear a beep, I see a flash, I wonder what they're going to ask.

-Hi, Nina.

-Hi.

-We've got a question for you.

-How do you play snooker?

That's a great question - how do you play snooker?

Snooker is a really fun game.

It's all about moving balls around a table

using a special stick called a cue.

This can be trickier than it looks.

Come down to my lab and we'll investigate.

-See you soon, Nina, bye.

-Bye.

I'll need help to answer this and I know just who to ask.

OK, Neurons, time to get to work.

ALL: Neurons at the ready, Nina.

OK. Today's question is - how do you play snooker?

Which Neuron will be most useful in helping us find the answer?

ALL: Me! Me! Me! Oh, me!

Will it be fabulous Felix?

I can help so very much if you need the sense of touch.

Will it be beautiful Belle?

I send messages to brain from ear. If there's a sound, I'll help you hear.

Will it be lovely Luke?

For looking and seeing, day or night,

I'll help you with your sense of sight.

Will it be awesome Ollie?

If it's pongy or whiffy but you can't tell,

my messages help your sense of smell.

Or will it be baby Bud?

Sour, salty, bitter or sweet, I'm your taste buddy whenever you eat!

It's Luke!

CHANTING: Go, Luke! Go, Luke!

Cool, Nina. I'll be looking out to help you!

Today's question is - how do you play snooker?

Because we need to see the snooker balls,

Luke, our sight Neuron, will help us today. But stand by, Neurons.

I have a feeling I may need help from all of you.

I need to get the lab ready before the experimenters arrive.

Sultan likes eating ice cream.

Grace likes chatting with friends.

I've seen snooker on TV.

I like watching the coloured balls.

But they both want to know - how do you play snooker?

So today, for one day only, Sultan and Grace become the experimenters.

-Hi, guys.

-Hi, Nina.

Welcome to my lab and thank you for your question -

how do you play snooker?

To find out the answer, let's start by using our senses.

ALL: Whoop whoo! A senses experiment! We're ready, Nina.

First, take a look at this.

Snooker is played on a big table

and the players try to knock the coloured balls into the pockets

by bumping them with the white ball.

And the long stick they're using is called a snooker cue.

And you score points by knocking the coloured balls into the pockets.

Pockets? Like we get in our trousers, Nina?

Yes, Bud, like the pockets we get in our trousers.

The holes around the edges of the snooker table are called pockets.

How do you get the balls to roll into the pockets?

Let's get experimenting.

So, Grace, if you roll the white ball down the chute

and it bumps into the orange ball, what do you think will happen?

The orange ball will move.

Oh, you might be right. Let's see.

Roll the white ball down there, go for it.

Hey, well done.

You were absolutely right.

The orange ball moved because the white ball bumped into it

and this shows us the balls can't move on their own.

Something needs to start them moving.

So when the white ball bumped into the orange ball,

that movement was passed on and the orange ball moved

and this is what happens in snooker.

OK, Sultan, it's your turn next.

-What do you think will happen this time?

-Both of the balls will move.

Well, let's see. So if you want

to roll the white ball.

Hey, well done. You were absolutely right.

So you started the white ball rolling

and that movement passed on

to the orange ball

and then onto the yellow ball.

Balls can't move themselves so we use a snooker cue.

BELLE: The white ball bumps into coloured balls and moves them too.

-LUKE:

-To score, you pot the coloured balls into the pockets.

Well remembered, Neurons.

How do you get the balls to go the right way?

That's a brilliant question.

The skill of snooker is getting the balls to move exactly where you want

and, actually, I know a very funny experiment

that we can do to find out more.

Now, guys, you are in these fantastic special suits

because you're going to pretend

to be the white ball and the coloured ball in a snooker game.

-So, how do they feel?

-Funny, Nina.

-Well, you look amazing.

So, we're investigating how to make the balls go exactly where we want.

To do this, we'll bump the white ball into the red ball

on different sides to see where it goes.

We'll do this safely and without anyone getting hurt

because you guys have your special suits on.

-Are you ready, experimenters?

-Yeah!

So, Sultan, you're going to bump Grace, the red ball,

in the middle for me, OK?

Ready, steady, go!

NINA LAUGHS

CHEERING AND SHOUTING

Well done, Sultan. So you bumped the red ball in the middle.

Now, Grace, what direction did you move in?

-I moved forwards, Nina.

-That's right.

By hitting the ball straight on, you moved forward in a straight line.

OK, Grace, it's your turn.

Grace, you are now the white ball

and I would like you to bump into the red ball on this side, OK?

-Are you ready?

-Yes!

Ready, steady, go!

Hey.

ALL: Yes!

-What happened this time?

-I went that way, Nina.

You did. The white ball bumped you on this side

and made you go this way.

OLLIE: So balls always move the opposite way

to the side that's bumped.

Let's take a trip to meet someone

who's really got their eye on the ball. Off we go!

OLLIE: Off we go, for another adventure.

Yeah, we're going to meet someone who's got their eye on the ball.

-Yes. Maybe a famous footballer.

-Or a tennis ace.

We're here, Neurons.

So, you asked - how do you play snooker?

And so far we've found out the snooker balls stay still

until they're bumped

and they always move the opposite way to the side they're bumped on.

-This is Dylan. Hi, Dylan.

-Hi, Dylan.

-Hi, everyone.

Dylan's been playing snooker since he was just three years old

and since then he's won lots of trophies and competitions.

-He's very good, isn't he?

-Yes.

Now, guys, what do you notice about the sides of the table?

-They go up, like a little wall.

-Yes, well, the edges are called cushions.

And they're raised so the balls stay on the table.

And bouncing balls off the cushions

is another way to move them into the pockets.

But how would you know where to bounce them, Nina?

Excellent question. I think Dylan can help us answer that.

-Dylan, can you help us with an experiment?

-Of course.

OK, we're going to try and get this pink snooker ball

into this pocket here.

These different coloured dots show three different paths

that the ball could take.

How do we know where on the cushion the ball should bounce off

so it goes into the pocket?

-So, which path should we try first?

-The blue one.

The blue one.

-Dylan, can you try hitting along the blue line for us?

-No problem.

Oh, never mind. But let's try again, so which path shall we try now?

The red one.

Dylan, can you try hitting the ball along the red path for us, please?

-Oh, no! It's missed again, Nina.

-I know, Bud.

There's only the yellow path to try now, experimenters.

So off you go, Dylan.

Oh, well done!

Yay! It worked. Thank you, Dylan, well done.

I'm just going to continue these dots

so we can see where the balls went.

There we go.

So when the ball

followed the blue line,

it bounced off the cushion

in this direction

and the direction that it bounced

off the cushion is called an angle.

The angle wasn't correct, so...

..it missed the pocket.

When the ball

followed the red line

it bounced off the cushion at that

angle and also missed the pocket.

It was the yellow angle

that got it just right.

It made the ball

bounce off the cushion

in just the right direction

to go all the way into the pocket.

In fact, it was so good, I think

we should see it again. Dylan?

-It's good.

-Yay!

NINA LAUGHS

What a great experiment.

Snooker players can't play

with stickers on the table

so they need a lot of practice

to work out where the balls will go.

# Nina and the Neurons! #

So, your question was - how do you play snooker?

I think we've answered it.

OLLIE: Snooker's played with a special stick called a cue.

-LUKE:

-A white ball bumps a coloured ball into the pocket.

-LUKE:

-Balls always move the opposite way to the side that's being bumped.

-BUD:

-Balls can also bump off the sides into pockets.

BELLE: As long as they bump in just the right place.

-So, I hope that's answered your question.

-Thanks, Nina, bye.

You're welcome, bye.

If you want to know more about the science all around us,

go to the Nina section on the CBeebies website. Have fun.

On your marks, get set...

Go!

# Get Sporty! Doo-bee doo-bee doob doob doo-bee doo doo!

# Get Sporty! Doo-bee doo-bee doob doob doo-bee doo doo!

# If you're itching for some exercise

# From your head down to your toes

Toes!

# Why not try out something new and give it a real go?

Go!

# Whenever you are restless and feeling kind of bored

Bored!

# Grab your friends and go outside and try a brand-new sport

# Ooooooooh!

# Get Sporty! Doo-bee doo-bee doob doob doo-bee doo doo!

# Get Sporty! Doo-bee doo-bee doob doob doo-bee doo doo!

# Spinning, throwing running, jumping

# Lots of fun to do!

# Cycling, diving sliding, rolling

# It's really up to you

Yoo-hoo!

# If you're wondering how a swimmer swims or a bike can go so fast

# Give it a bash and make it last

# It's time to go get sporty

# Ooooooooooh!

# Get Sporty! Doo-bee doo-bee doob doob doo-bee doo doo!

# Get Sporty! Doo-bee doo-bee doob doob doo-bee doo doo!

# Get Sporty! Doo-bee doo-bee doob doob doo-bee doo doo!

# Get Sporty! Doo-bee doo-bee doob doob doo-bee doo doo! #

And remember, whether it's inside, outside, on a bike, or in a pool

we can all try something new and get sporty.

See you again soon, bye.

ALL: Bye!

Get sporty!