British scientist John Dalton (1766-1844), French scientist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (1778-1850), and Italian scientist Amedeo Avogadro (1776-1856) are familiar to many chemistry students. Such students may understand the importance of Dalton's atomic theory, model how Gay-Lussac's law relates the pressure and the temperature of a gas, and use…

Helping students understand the Nature of Science (NOS) is a long-standing goal of science education. One method is to provide students examples of science history in the form of short stories. This article modifies that approach, using historical case studies to address both the history of science and the history of technology, as well as the…

As society becomes more technological, the need for scientific literacy grows . Part of scientific literacy is understanding the nature of science, which can be revealed, in part, by learning the historical context of current science concepts. History of science can be taught using scientific inquiry, scientific argumentation, and authentic…

Lists the important discoveries of chemical elements and explains changes in the periodic table. First published in 1983. (YDS)

Describes how the first fluoride toothpaste was developed. (YDS)

Discusses the history of the Indiana Medical History Museum, the nation's oldest pathology laboratory building which was used until the 1960s. (YDS)

Explains the term "evolution" by considering its history, Darwin's views on evolution, and evolution after the discovery of the gene. Discusses issues in evolution. (Contains 17 references.) (YDS)

Including historical events and cultural contexts to enrich science teaching helps students understand the human aspect of science. Describes a sample lesson that includes the historical milestones that led to our current understanding of the structure of cell membranes. Examines the development and use of scientific models within the historical…

Suggests that the physical meaning of work is closer to the colloquial meaning than any other terms in mechanics. Reviews history to show that force times distance was used to refer to the output of engines since the early 18th century, but none became widespread and 'work' quickly became the preferred term after G. Goriolis suggested it in 1829.…

Reviews conjectures that were presented when the Fellows of the early Royal Society of London, founded in 1662, carried out investigations into the origins of life. (Author/MKR)

Discusses the discovery of frictional electrification in 1840, which was the basis of the nineteenth-century electrostatic generator. (MVL)

Discusses the life of physicist Stephen W. Hawking and his book "A Brief History of Time." Describes his attraction to people of all ages in spite of his areas of expertise and disabilities. (MVL)

Lists the women Nobel Prize laureates and questions why, with the exception of Marie Curie, all these women scientists are not well known by the public. Explains why so few women have won the Nobel Prize in science and medicine as compared to other fields. (Contains 18 references.) (YDS)

Elucidates some aspects of Newton's theory of light and colors, specifically as presented in his first optical paper in 1672. Analyzes Newton's main experiments intended to show that light is a mixture of rays with different refrangibilities. (SAH)