Popcorn Pops 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! #

NINA GIGGLES

Oh, hello! You caught me doing one of my favourite things.

Popping plastic bubble paper!

-It makes a great sound!

-POP

Pop!

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.

How does popcorn pop?

That's a very good question - why does popcorn pop?

Come to the lab and we'll investigate.

-ALL: See you soon, Nina.

-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, why does popcorn pop?

Which Neuron will be most useful to help 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 Belle!

NEURONS: Go, Belle! Go, Belle!

Go, Belle! Go, Belle! Go, Belle!

Go, Belle!

Brilliant! I'm all ears, Nina.

Today's question is, why does popcorn pop?

Because popcorn popping is something we hear,

Belle the hearing neuron will be busy. I need to get the lab ready!

Matthew likes drawing, Muhammad loves judo,

Mirran likes playing with her dolls.

They all want to find out why popcorn pops.

So for one day only, they become experimenters!

ALL: Hi, Nina.

Oh, welcome to my lab. It's lovely to see you.

Your question was, why does popcorn pop?

What made that question pop into your head?

-It's the only food that makes a popping sound.

-You're right.

Popcorn does make a brilliant sound.

-Yeah! A bit like this!

-POP

I think we need to investigate.

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

Whoop-whoo! A senses experiment! We're ready, Nina!

We're going to take a closer look at some popcorn.

Do you know where popcorn comes from?

ALL: No idea.

It comes from a plant, that grows, called corn.

This is what we call corn on the cob.

These little corn kernels are what make popcorn.

But they're dried first, to look like this.

So what do you think, guys?

Should we use the dried corn kernels and make some popcorn?

ALL: Yeah!

Ha-ha! OK!

There are dried corn kernels in this special bag.

I'll just pop it in here.

Ooh, quiet, everyone. It's time for me to listen.

I think we'll hear some popping soon.

Never put things in the microwave yourself.

POPPING

-Can you hear that?

-It's popping.

Yeah, it's popping lots, isn't it?

What a brilliant noise!

-BEEP

-Ooh, I think that means it's ready.

I'm going to pop these gloves on because it'll be hot.

My, my. The corn kernels have really changed shape.

You're right, Luke.

The unpopped corn is very different to the popped corn.

-It's got bigger.

-And once it's cooled down, we can taste it!

-Mm, mm.

-Tastes nice!

Mm, that's lovely.

Yummy!

When we cooked the kernels, they changed and got bigger.

I wonder if that's something to do with the popping noise.

We need to do another experiment!

For this experiment, we'll use balloons.

-What would you normally do to make a balloon get bigger?

-Blow it up.

By blowing air into it, like this.

Ta-dah! Hee-hee.

The balloon is bigger because it's full of air.

Air is a gas and most gases are invisible.

There's air all around us and we can't see it, can we?

ALL: No, Nina.

Would you believe me if I said I could make a balloon bigger

without blowing into it - without even touching it?

ALL: No way, Nina!

Well, I am going to show you how. Safety glasses on first.

I've got mine here.

Yes! It's very important to protect our eyes

when we do experiments in Nina's science lab.

This tub is filled with liquid nitrogen.

It's very cold - so cold, I'm wearing my protective gloves.

Inside here are some balloons.

I'm going to take them out gently, using these tongs.

RUSTLING

What a brilliant noise!

Will I get another out?

ALL: Yeah.

Yeah, OK.

A blue one!

Oh!

It's popping.

Yeah, it sounds like it's popping.

It's like MAGIC!

But it's not magic, Bud. It's science.

Inside the balloons is a bit of air.

Gas like air gets bigger, or expands, when it's warmer.

So when the balloons were in the tub of cold liquid nitrogen,

the gas inside was very cold and small.

But when we pulled the balloon out into the warm air,

the gas inside got bigger.

Balloons are stretchy, so they got bigger as the gas pushed out.

What would happen

if the balloons just kept on getting bigger and bigger?

-It will burst.

-Like this?

POP Oh! I wasn't expecting that!

From this experiment we've found out that when gases expand quickly,

they push things around them outwards and upwards

and can make a pop and this is what happens to corn kernels, too.

Gas trapped in the kernel can expand, making it pop.

I know something else really exciting that shoots into the air

-and pops because of gas. Shall we go and see it?

-Yeah!

Mm. Where do you think we're going today?

Nina said we're going to see something that shoots into the air.

-It could be a plane.

-Or a space rocket!

I don't know how we'll see it - it's dark outside.

-We've not come far. Have you guessed why we're here?

-No!

Keep looking up at the sky. I've got a feeling something will pop up!

BANG

See, I told you we'd see something that shoots into the air! Fireworks!

They make lots of noises, don't they? What do they sound like?

-Popping like popcorn with big bangs.

-They do.

That's because gases inside the fireworks push outwards

and this sends them up into the sky and makes them pop, like popcorn!

I wonder what makes this happen.

Fireworks are very dangerous, so we're standing well back.

BANGING

What do you think made the firework go off?

That man lit it.

That's right. The firework went into the sky because the man lit it

and a flame appeared, like a little fire.

-What do we think of when we think of fire?

-Hot!

Yes, fire is very hot.

Perhaps heat is important in making corn kernels expand and go pop!

I think we need to go back to the lab for a final experiment.

-Let's go!

-ALL: Yeah!

Have a look in front of you, guys.

We have a bottle inside some ice. Does the bottle feel cold?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Yeah. It's very cold, isn't it?

-Yeah.

OK. You each have a glove in front of you.

We need to put this glove over the cold bottle like this.

Good.

We need to put our protective gloves on

and very carefully lift the cold bottle into this hot water.

It's important not to touch hot water - it could burn you.

That's it. Keep watching your glove.

-It's moving!

-Do you see what's happening?

Mine's getting bigger! Wow!

Why don't you shake its hand?

-Does it feel like there's anything in there?

-Yes.

That's because there's air inside them.

The cold bottles had trapped cold air

and the hot water started to warm up the cold air.

As it warmed up, it got bigger and pushed up into the glove,

making the glove bigger!

Oh!

This happens when we heat popcorn.

Dried corn kernels also have a bit of trapped air inside them.

when we cook them, the heat makes the air expand so quickly,

that they burst open and pop!

Your question was, why does popcorn pop?

I think we've answered it.

We found that when gas gets hotter, it expands and pushes outwards.

This pushing can send something into the air, like a firework

or a piece of popcorn!

If it happens fast enough, it makes a loud noise.

-I hope that answered your question.

-ALL: Thanks, Nina! Bye!

-Bye!

If you want to know more about the science 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! #

Oh, I've had a brilliant day! There's been so many sounds!

I've really enjoyed myself today.

the smell of the popcorn was just lovely.

I've had a fabby day!

I loved seeing the balloon blow up all by itself!

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

See those fireworks shoot up into the sky!

It's been a marvellous day!

That bottle felt very cold but it soon heated up!

Our day has been bursting with experiments.

I hope you've enjoyed it. Bye!

ALL: Bye!

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