Salty Sea 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 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

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

# Oh, yeah! #

Oh, hello there. I'm just going to pour myself

a glass of lovely fresh water.

Being a scientist is thirsty work, you know!

Oh! The water has carried the ice cubes with it.

Quite noisy, aren't they?

Clink, clink, clink!

BEEPING

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

-ALL: Hi, Nina!

-Hi, guys!

-We've got a question for you, Nina.

-Why is the sea so salty?

That's a great question. Why is the sea so salty?

I love swimming in the sea. But I've never thought about

why the water is salty. Come down to my lab

and we'll do some experiments to investigate.

-ALL: See you soon, Nina! Bye!

-Bye!

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, "Why is the sea so salty?"

Which neuron 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 from brain to ear.

If there's a sound, I'll help you hear.

Will it be lovely Luke?

By looking or 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 Bud!

-Yippee!

-CHEERING

ALL: Go, Bud! Go, Bud!

ALL: Go, Bud!

Give me a taste of the action, Nin!

Today's question is, "Why is the sea so salty?"

Now, salty is something we taste, so Bud will be helping me today.

But stand by, Neurons, I might be needing help from all of you.

Right, I better get the lab ready before the experimenters arrive!

Ruan likes blueberries, Lydia loves skipping and Olivia likes reading,

but they all want to know why the sea is so salty.

So today, for one day only,

Ruan, Lydia and Olivia become the experimenters!

-Hi, Nina!

-Oh, welcome to my lab. Come in!

It's lovely to see you all.

So, your question is, "Why is the sea so salty?",

which is a great question. But why do you want to know?

We live by the sea. When we play in it, it tastes salty.

And we want to know why.

Oh, you're so lucky to live by the sea!

And you're right - sea water is salty!

So I think we need to do some investigating to find out more.

For our first experiment, we're going to use our senses!

ALL: Woo! A senses experiment! We're ready, Nina!

-OK. Are everyone's hands clean?

-ALL: Yes!

Good stuff - we're all going to need clean hands for this experiment.

So what do you think salt tastes like?

Me! Me! I know that one!

-Hmmm...I don't know.

-Salty.

Well, it's definitely not sweet.

Em...it's not bitter.

Or sour. It just tastes...

salty!

Thanks, Bud. Describing a taste is tricky, isn't it?

-Yes.

-OK, guys, now I'd like you to take your clean finger

and dip it into the glass of water.

Have a taste and tell me what it tastes like.

ALL: Normal.

It tastes normal! OK. I'm now going to add a little bit of this salt.

This is just like the salt we use in our food.

I'll just add a little bit, because too much salt is bad for us.

Now we're going to stir.

-Can you see what's happening?

-It's disappearing.

Yeah. In science, we would say that the salt has dissolved.

It looks like it's disappearing but it's still there.

OK, dip your fingers into the water again and taste a tiny bit of water.

Eurgh, yuck!

-What does it taste like now?

-Salty.

-Salty.

-Just like the sea.

Because the salt in our food often comes from the sea.

We call it sea salt.

Just like the salt in our water,

we can't see the salt in the sea,

because it's dissolved in the seawater, but we know it's there

because we can taste it. Time for another experiment.

OK, so these all look different.

But they have something in common. Can you guess what?

-Salt.

-Well done. That's right. They're all types of salt.

There are many different types of salt,

but the one we use in our food is the only one we eat.

We've discovered salt is found in the sea,

but it can also be found on land.

Look at this.

That feels hard and a little sharp.

This rock is made of salt. It's called rock salt.

What?! Did Nina say that salt is a rock?!

Well it's not QUITE true to say that.

It's what we call a mineral.

A mineral is made by the natural forces of the earth.

All plants, animals and people need certain minerals to live.

Salt is one that our bodies need.

But we mustn't eat too much, as too much is bad for us.

Let's have a closer look at some salt.

This is a microscope. It makes small things look much bigger,

so we can see them better. This is salt, close up.

What does it look like?

-A cube.

-Squares.

-Oh! They're like sugar cubes.

They are a bit, Felix.

In science, we call these crystals.

All minerals are made of crystals.

We've discovered salt is a mineral, and can be found in rocks on land

as well as in the sea.

We still don't know why the sea is so salty.

I think we need to go somewhere there's lots of water flowing.

Let's go, experimenters!

Here we go! I can't wait to see where we'll end up today.

Nina said it's somewhere with flowing water.

Maybe it's a swimming pool with diving boards and fountains!

Sharpen your senses, Neurons. We're here.

Do you know why I've brought you to this stream?

ALL: No, Nina.

Take a look and see, see, see what you can see, see, see.

YES!

Nina's brought us to the seaside!

Yes, this stretch of water flows directly into the sea.

All streams and rivers do eventually. Let's try an experiment.

Ooh, they've got ducks!

Quack, quack, quack, quack.

We'll drop our ducks into the stream to see what happens.

-Are you ready?

-ALL: Yeah.

OK. One...two...three, go!

Mine is going so far.

I'm second place!

Go on, duck!

Mine is Ducky!

Oh, look, it's fallen!

-I'm after Nina!

-One's caught in the rock!

-Come on.

-Nina!

Look!

Hee-hee-hee!

-Mine's dirty!

-Our ducks made it all the way to the sea! Yay!

I think our ducks need a rest, so pop them back in the bag.

-Night, night.

-Night, night, Ducky!

We've found out that rivers and streams on land flow into the sea

and that moving water can carry things to the sea, like our ducks.

We still don't know why the sea is so salty.

-We need to do one final experiment.

-THEY CHEER

Let's go!

Your question was, why is the sea so salty?

We've found that salt is a mineral, found on the land and in the sea.

At the seaside we learned that streams and rivers

flow into the sea and can carry things with them.

We still don't know why the sea is so salty. Let's get experimenting.

-Yeah.

-Yes!

Lots of salt in the sea used to be on land,

under the earth and in rocks.

A bit like the one we looked at earlier.

For this experiment, we'll show how it ended up in the sea.

Imagine this clear water is the sea a very long time ago.

This is the rocky land beside the sea and these rocks contain salt.

For this experiment, we've made the salt blue so we can see it better.

Now we'll each take a watering can full of clear water

and pretend to make it rain on the rocks.

And go.

That's good.

Whoo!

Look at it in the bowl.

Ohh! Wow!

What's happened to the water?

It's turned blue.

Yes. The blue stuff is our pretend salt.

So the water washed all the blue salt down into our pretend sea.

When it rains, salt on the land dissolves in the rainwater

and then it's carried to the sea by streams and rivers.

A bit like the way our ducks were carried to the sea by the stream.

-What do you notice about the pretend sea water?

-It started off clear

-but it ended up blue.

-Yes!

We know the blue salt ended up in the water -

it's turned the water blue!

Of course, in real life, salt doesn't make the sea blue,

but it does make it salty!

Your question was, why is the sea so salty? I think we've answered it.

Salt that was in the earth and on rocks has been washed into the sea

by rivers and streams over many years,

making the sea saltier and saltier.

That's why the sea is so salty. I hope that's answered your question.

-ALL: Thanks, Nina. Bye.

-Bye!

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

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

Lab coat on, Nina?

Lab coat on, Ollie.

Safety gloves on, Nina?

Safety gloves on, Felix.

Don't forget your goggles, Nina.

Goggles are on, Luke. I think we're ready!

# We do experiments in the lab

-# In the lab!

-Shooby-dooby, in the lab

# Bubbling experiments in the lab

# In the lab!

# Go, Nina, in the lab

# Fizzing and popping Steam and smoke

# We need protection Don't we, folks?

# We always put our safety first

# Shooby-dooby, dooby-dooby

# We do experiments in the lab

# In the lab!

# Go, Nina! #

I've had a fabby day,

being Nina's salty taste buddy!

I've really enjoyed myself today,

all those salty, seaweed-y smells to waft.

Ahh, it's been such a great day, man!

The experiment with the blue salt was amazing.

Our day's been bursting with experiments.

I hope you've enjoyed it. See you soon!

ALL: Bye!

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