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Languages
Beginners’ Spanish: Getting around
Do you want to improve your language skills and communicate more easily and effectively in Spanish? This free course, Beginners’ Spanish: Getting around, concentrates on Spanish as a tool for communication, but it also provides some insights into Hispanic societies and cultures through authentic printed and audio materials. This OpenLearn course focuses on public spaces and how to get by in a Hispanic city.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Discovering chemistry
Chemistry lies at the centre of our modern life, playing a part in areas as diverse as the development of new drugs and materials, analysing our environment through to more mundane activities such as washing your clothes and making your tea. But to truly understand the role chemistry plays you need to have a sound grasp of a number of fundamental principles. This free course, Discovering chemistry, introduces you to some of these concepts, beginning with the idea that everything that you can see is made of building blocks called atoms. This leads on to a look at the chemical elements and how they are arranged in the Periodic Table, enabling chemists to rationalise patterns in their chemical and physical behaviour. Next you will consider chemical reactions, specifically how atoms combine with other atoms to form molecules, and how molecules combine with other atoms or molecules to form bigger molecules. You will meet simple (tried and tested) theories to explain the bonding in molecules and at how their shapes may be explained, and indeed predicted. And in a wider sense you’ll be looking at why reactions happen at all and how fast they go. This is also a beginner’s level course in the language of the chemist; you’ll learn about symbols, formulas and how chemical equations which represent reactions are constructed. Finally you will see how chemists ----- atoms and molecules, essential for making up solutions of a known concentration in order to carry out a reaction, or performing a chemical analysis.
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Understanding ADHD
This free course, Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), explores the experience of ADHD from the perspective of those who are diagnosed with the condition, and those who care for them. It covers the contribution of scientific research to understanding ADHD, with a focus on assessing the effectiveness and mechanism of action of treatments and therapies.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Could we control our climate?
Climate crisis is one of the grand challenges we face as a society, but it can be hard to approach as a subject. Not only can the science at times seem dauntingly complex, but the solutions are also far from clear. This leaves many people feeling confused, guilty, anxious, angry, or else completely switched off from the subject. This course tells the story of climate science in a new way, to find a fresh perspective for thinking about the future. It looks at the problem through the lens of climate engineering - the idea of deliberately trying to modify the climate, to counteract the changes we’re observing and predict what will happen in the future. The subject contains everything from hope – new technologies that could prevent the worst impacts of climate change – to enormous controversies over their risks and the way they could be used. More than that, climate engineering serves as a useful tool to move beyond the usual, often frustrating conversations around what to do about the climate crisis. By examining exactly what we want for our planet's climate, and what we would be willing to sacrifice to get there, we might find more clarity in our search for solutions.
TV, Radio & Events
Building Britain's Biggest Nuclear Power Station
Behind the scenes of the construction site of Hinkley Point C, Britain’s controversial new nuclear power station.
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Euro 2020
The UEFA European Championship starts in Rome on 11 June and ends on 11 July in London. Get fanatical about football with our expert insights and free sport courses.
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Languages
The history of Spanish in about six minutes
How old is Spanish? Where do words like siesta, cerveza or paella come from? What languages have influenced Spanish the most?
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Nature & Environment
Ocean Explorer
Take a journey into the Earth's oceans and discover whether you've got what it takes to become an oceanographer. Explore ocean depths, currents, temperatures and find out more about the future of our oceans.
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