Mathematics provides us with tools to capture and explain phenomena in everyday biology, even at the nanoscale. The most regularly applied technique to biology is differential equations. In this article, we seek to present how differential equation models of biological phenomena, particularly the flow through ion channels, can be used to motivate…

Explains an algorithm which details procedures for solving a broad class of genetics problems common to pre-college biology. Several flow charts (developed from the algorithm) are given with sample questions and suggestions for student use. Conclusions are based on the authors' research (which includes student interviews and textbook analyses).…

Various researchers have associated meaningful problem solving with methods guided directly by a conceptual knowledge base. By contast, a meaningless solving course, or sequence of operations, is essentially independent of the solver's conceptual understanding of the problem under consideration. This paper is the first to document a meaningless,…