To help teachers enrich their students' understanding of inquiry in Earth science, this article describes six modes of inquiry used by practicing geoscientists (Earth scientists). Each mode of inquiry is illustrated by using examples of seminal or pioneering research and provides pointers to investigations that enable students to experience these…

To apply students' savvy internet skills in the science classroom--as well as capture their interest in science and investigation, and provide opportunities for authentic research--introduce them to real-time data from ocean-observing systems. Students can use data from these ocean-observing systems to discover the winds and waves from storms or…

Describes a method for making a simple, inexpensive apparatus which can be used to determine Planck's constant. Provides illustrations of a circuit diagram using one or more light-emitting diodes and a BASIC computer program for simplifying calculations. (RT)

Describes the use of a precalibrated stainless steel thermistor, interfaced with an Apple computer, in chemistry experiments. Discusses the advantages of "instant" temperature readings in experiments requiring that readings be taken at certain intervals. Outlines such an experiment which investigates freezing point depressions. (TW)

Describes a two-week lesson on electric fields that combined lecture, interactive video, lab experimentation, computer spread sheets, and computer-assisted-graphing. (PR)

Explains how a computer uses its vision to determine the area, edge length, width, height, and center of mass in two dimensions from photos of backlit sea shells. Includes HyperCard codes used to instruct the computer to make the calculations. (MDH)