Rough Science - Series 4: Death Valley (6 Parts)

Synopsis

Compilation of the series of 6 programmes in which five scientists are placed in a desert and asked to demonstrate their basic science skills in space-related challenges.

1) ROVER - The first challenges in this series heavily focus on the exploration theme. The team have to make a rover - a remote-controlled vehicle that could explore any terrain; use their geological and botanical skills to search for water in the desert and find a way of purifying it to make it safe for drinking.

2) COMMUNICATION - These challenges are all based around making contact. The team has to come up with a way of communicating that doesn’t use sound waves because in the vacuum of space, there’s nothing for them to move through. They come up with a truly extraordinary way to carry a voice on a sunbeam. Ellen and Mike have no money and just three days to come up with their own version of a zero-gravity pen. Iain has to find a way to communicate with aliens and has to come up with a plaque that would communicate information about the Rough Science team to them.

3) SPACESUIT - Although everyone thinks of space as very cold, in fact, if you stood on the sunny side of the moon, the temperature would be hot enough to boil the blood in your body. Spacesuits are designed to protect astronauts from these extreme temperatures. The challenge is for the Rough Scientists to collectively design a cooling system for their very own space suit.

4) IMPACT - This programme is all about meteorites and asteroids. Not too far from the Rough Science base on the edge of Death Valley is Meteor Crater. The team has to work out how big the meteor that caused this huge crater must have been. Jonathan and Ellen have to pick a crater on the moon and measure how big it is. Because they will be doing their measurements at night, Ellen will have to come up with some lights.

5) AERIAL SURVEYOR - In this programme the team has to design an aerial surveyor that can explore much greater areas by floating above land. They have been given a tiny camera which will record whatever the aerial surveyor sees. They make a solar balloon, heated by the power of the sun. Mike has a very different challenge. In 1970 the crew of Apollo XIII faced certain death when an accident damaged their oxygen tanks. To survive they had to build a carbon dioxide filter and Mike has to do the same. Ellen and Iain have to work out the magnitude and where the epicentre of the 1872 Californian earthquake was.

6) ROCKET - The final set of Rough Science space challenges are all about rockets: to make three different rockets, using water as fuel. They also have to design their rockets to carry a raw egg as a passenger. Mike takes a chemical approach, using electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases then recombining them to form an explosive mixture. Jonathan, with his physics background builds a steam powered rocket and Kathy, also a physicist decides to use pressurised water. The scientists compete to see who can get to the launch pad first, and whose rocket will be the most effective. Meanwhile Ellen and Iain have to find a way of putting an egg into each rocket and returning them safely back to earth.

Series

Rough Science Series 4, Xs012

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Year of release

2003

Year of production

2003

Notes

Open University series XS012. Broadcast on BBC2 from .

Documentation

Related website: www.open2net/science/roughscience

Subjects

Science

Keywords

applied science; space exploration

Distribution Formats

Type

DVD

Format

Region 2 PAL

Price

£15.00

Availability

Sale

Duration/Size

180 minutes

Year

2011

Production Company

Name

BBC Open University Productions

Distributor

Name

Open University Worldwide

Web

http://www.ouw.co.uk External site opens in new window

Phone

+44 (0) 1908 274066

Address

Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA

Notes

NB. As of May 2016 Open University Worldwide are no longer distributing DVDs. They have posted this message on their website: ‘Unfortunately Open University Worldwide Limited has decided that product sales are no longer viable given the reduced funding to Higher Education institutions and diminishing demand for the products we have traditionally stocked. At present the Open University Students Association (OUSA) will continue to sell the "Good Study Guide", and we are in discussion with other possible distributors to continue to make The Open University’s products available for purchase. As soon as we have any information on other channels of distribution we will update this notice’. Some products are still available via second hand dealers on Amazon.co.uk

Online Retailer

Name

Open University Bespoke DVD - Clips & Bits

Web

http://www.ouwcb.co.uk/index.html External site opens in new window