Sprinting 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! #

Aah! Hello there.

I'm trying to catch this ruler as fast as I can after I let it go.

I'll try again.

OK.

Oooh. I'm getting better.

It only dropped this far that time.

One more go.

Oh! Fantastic!

-BEEPS

-I hear a beep, I see a flash.

I wonder what they're going to ask.

ALL: Hi, Nina.

Hi.

We've got a question for you.

How can we get faster in a race?

That's a great question. How can we start faster in a race?

I've been trying to get faster at catching a ruler.

I wonder how you can get faster at starting when a race begins.

Why don't you come down to my lab and we'll investigate?

ALL: See you soon, Nina. Bye.

Bye. Well, I'm going to need some help to answer this one,

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 can you start faster in a race?

Which Neuron do you think will be most useful

in helping us find the answer?

ALL: Me! Me! 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 Belle!

# Go, Belle Go, Belle

# Go, Belle #

Brilliant! I'm all ears, Nina.

Today's question is how can we start faster in a race?

Because we hear a noise when a race starts,

Belle, our hearing 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.

Claire loves playing with dolls.

Ken loves reading books.

Melissa like helping her mummy to cook.

I love running in the park.

I like racing my friends.

I want to run as fast as I can.

But they all want to know, how can we start faster in a race?

So today, for one day only,

Melissa, Ken and Claire become the experimenters.

Hi, guys!

ALL: Hi, Nina.

Welcome to my lab, and thank you for your great question,

how can we start faster in a race?

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

ALL: Whoop Whoo! A senses experiment!

ALL: We're ready, Nina!

So, what normally happens at the start of a race?

Someone shouts "go".

That's right. Someone might shout "go",

or they might use something like this.

You might want to cover your ears, experimenters.

STARTER HORN BLARES

Wow! That was brilliant, Nina. Can we hear it again?

I'd rather you didn't, Nina.

It gave me quite a shock.

Sorry, Felix.

This is a starter horn, and it's very loud, isn't it?

ALL: Yes.

People use these to start a race.

But what happened when I sounded the horn?

It made us jump.

Yes. You heard a sound, and it made you jump.

Now that was you reacting to the sound.

A reaction is what we do after something has happened.

Like catching a ball after we see it coming towards us,

or jumping when we hear a loud sound.

Sounds like we'll all be busy, Nina.

ALL: Hooray!

That's right. Neurons tell us when to react.

So they are very important.

And we can find out more about how we react by playing a game.

So follow me.

This board is covered in buttons that light up,

and when you see a button light up,

I want you to press it as fast as you can to turn the light off.

There's a computer inside here that measures how long it takes

for you to react, and turn the light off.

And the time it takes is called your reaction time.

It looks like you need to use your eyes for this one, Nina.

That's right, Luke. So, are you ready, experimenters?

ALL: Yes!

-Quick, press it!

-Touch the light as fast as you can.

That's it. Keep looking.

Ooh!

And stop! Well done, experimenters.

You did a great job of reacting to the lights

by pressing the buttons really quickly.

But why does it take time for us to react?

Let's do another experiment to find out.

So far, we've found out that when we hear a sound, or see a light,

we react to it.

And the time it takes for us to react is called our reaction time.

Let's have a look at some sports

where reaction time is really important.

-STARTER HORN BLARES

-Now, what do you see, experimenters?

A swimming race.

A race starting.

Yes. It's really important to react quickly at the start of a race.

So let's play a game to find out exactly what happens

when a race begins.

So first, I will sound this starter horn,

just like at the start of a race.

The sound will travel from the horn to our ears.

So, Melisa, I would like you to be the sound

and to run from the horn to the giant ear.

Wow! A giant ear. Nina, I wish your ears were as big as that.

I'm quite happy with my ordinary sized ears, thank you, Belle.

Now, when our ears hear the sound, they send a message to our brain.

So, Claire, I would like you to be the message,

and you will run from the giant ear to the brain.

When our brain gets a message from our ears,

or any of our senses, it decides what to do,

then sends a message to the right part of our body.

So we need this brain to tell the muscles in the legs to start moving.

So, Ken, I would like you to run from the brain to the legs

and start moving the handles to make them move, OK?

-Are you ready, experimenters?

-ALL: Yes!

On your marks, set...

STARTER HORN BLARES

Excellent work, everyone.

Well done, experimenters.

You did a brilliant job of passing on all those messages.

But it took some time, didn't it?

ALL: Yes.

That's like our reaction time.

Every time our bodies react to something,

messages have to be sent from our senses to our brain,

then from our brain, to other parts of our body.

Reaction time is really important in lots of sports.

But how do we get faster at reacting to things?

Well, let's go somewhere flat to find out.

Oh, goody! I love this bit.

I wonder where Nina is taking us.

Nina said it was somewhere flat.

Pancakes are flat. I hope we're going to a giant flat pancake party.

Yummy!

I can't see any pancakes, Neurons.

But it looks like we're here.

Now, we've come to Scotstoun stadium to see a young sprinter in action.

And here she is.

This is Morgan.

ALL: Hi, Morgan.

Hi, guys.

Now, a sprinter is a runner who runs very fast over a short distance.

In fact, sometimes sprint races only last ten seconds.

Wow! That's a quick race.

Exactly, Belle. That's why sprinters have to get a very fast start.

What are those things at her feet, Nina?

They look funny.

They're called starting blocks, Bud.

When Morgan reacts to the sound,

she'll use the blocks to push off to get an extra fast start.

On your marks, set...

STARTER HORN BLARES

Whoa! Look at her go!

Experimenters, would you like a go?

ALL: Yes!

On your marks, set...

Well done, experimenters.

Your neurons were working really well there.

Because you moved when you heard the sound.

So, let's try it a few more times,

and we'll see if your reaction time gets any better.

On your marks, set...

SHE CLAPS

-It looks like they're getting faster.

-Well done.

Because you practised, your neurons knew what was about to happen.

The starter sound had to reach your ears,

the messages had to be sent from your ears to your brain,

and on to the muscles in your legs.

Because you practised over and over,

your brain got used to what was happening.

It didn't have to think so much about what to do,

and the message was sent more quickly.

Neurons are pretty amazing, Nina.

You are indeed, Felix.

One of the reasons that athletes like Morgan can start races so fast

is because they practise lots and lots.

Eventually, athletes react much more quickly.

Almost without thinking.

The more you practise, the quicker your brain works.

If you want to speed up your reaction time,

you just need to practise.

That's right.

Athletes spend a lot of time practising.

# Nina and the Neurons #

Your question was, how can we start faster in a race?

And I think we've answered it.

To get a really fast start, you need to react quickly

when you hear the starter noise.

Reaction time is the time it takes you to react

to hearing the noise, or to seeing a light.

It takes time to react to something,

because messages have to be sent from your sense neurons, like us,

to your brain and then on to parts of your body.

But if we keep practising, we can learn to react more quickly.

And then, we can get a really fast start and win the race!

So, I hope that's answered your question.

ALL: Thanks, Nina. Bye.

You're welcome. Bye.

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

go to the Nina section on the CBeebies website.

Have fun!

ALL: On your marks, get set,

ALL: Go!

# Get sporty

# Do-be-do-be-do-do-do-be-do-do

# Get sporty

# Do-be-do-be-do-do-do-be-do-do

-# 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

# Get sporty

# Do-be-do-be-do-do-do-be-do-do

# Get sporty

# Do-be-do-be-do-do-do-be-do-do

# 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

# Get sporty

# Do-be-do-be-do-do-do-be-do-do

# Get sporty

# Do-be-do-be-do-do-do-be-do-do

# Get sporty

# Do-be-do-be-do-do-do-be-do-do

# Get sporty

# Do-be-do-be-do-do-do-be-do-do

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!