An undergraduate laboratory experiment for the volumetric quantitative analysis of ascorbic acid and iron in dietary supplement tablets is presented. Powdered samples of the dietary supplement tablets were volumetrically titrated against electrolytically generated reagents, and the mass of dietary reagent in the tablet was determined from the…

In order to challenge our undergraduate students' enduring misconception that plants, animals, and fungi must be "advanced" and that other eukaryotes traditionally called protists must be "primitive," we have developed a 24-hour take-home guided inquiry and investigation of live Physarum cultures. The experiment replicates…

Even though photosynthesis is an obligatory part of the science curriculum, research has shown that students often have a poor understanding of it. The authors advocate that classroom coverage of the topic of photosynthesis should include not only its biochemical properties but also the role of photosynthesis or photosynthetic organisms in matter…

Presents an experiment to compare the effectiveness of 95% ethanol to 20% bleach as disinfectants using t-tests for the statistical analysis of the data. Reports that bleach is a better disinfectant. Discusses the statistical and practical significance of the results. (JRH)

Provides ideas and outcomes for nine computer laboratory experiments using a commercial eight-bit analog to digital (ADC) interface. Experiments cover statistics; rotation; harmonic motion; voltage, current, and resistance; ADC conversions; temperature measurement; single slit diffraction; and radioactive decay. Includes necessary schematics. (MVL)

This book was written to make it easier for classroom teachers to teach students the skills they need to successfully conduct, analyze, and report an experiment and to carry out independent research; it also presents strategies for holding successful science competitions. Part 1 contains field-tested teaching strategies for developing student…

Presents an outdoor experiment to measure the speed of sound as a classroom experience to begin the teaching year. Measures the delay time from seeing and hearing crashing cymbals across a field to calculate the speed. Exposes students to experimental uncertainties and limits of uncertainty in measurement. (MDH)

Describes the statistical test of chi-square analysis. Explains how this test can be used in biology instruction. Examples from blood typing are used. (PR)

Describes two simple methods of error analysis: (1) combining errors in the measured quantities; and (2) calculating the error or uncertainty in the slope of a straight-line graph. Discusses significance of the error in the comparison of experimental results with some known value. (MDH)