Volumetric titrations are an accurate and precise analytical method, which explains their use in industrial and research settings and their inclusion in senior secondary chemistry curricula around the world. Students often have difficulty understanding the intricacies of titrations because they are novices being presented with a long list of…

In this article, the author describes a chemistry gas experiment that she developed with the intent of integrating inquiry and Problem-Based Learning (PBL). The lab activity follows the principles of Ambitious Science Teaching (AST). Teachers (1) engage students with important science ideas, (2) elicit students' ideas while making visible what…

Magnifying objects can foster wonder in young children because they can make new observations of familiar things. This activity helps children explore common substances and familiar materials using a magnifying glass. Magnification can help people observe living things more closely providing a link to the work of scientists and the magnifying…

As part of the celebration of the international year of light and light-based technologies, this article presents an activity involving boiling water, sharp knives, gelatin powder, and a laser pointer. Students are instructed never look directly at a laser pointer because it can damage the eyes, and to make sure a responsible adult is present at…

This article describes how the Advancing Science and Engineering through Laboratory Learning (ASELL) Schools program was developed. ASELL School's directive is to facilitate the embedding of inquiry-based learning in secondary school classrooms through workshop-based teacher professional development (PD). The approach of ASELL Schools is to…

Energy is one of the most complex yet central concepts taught in schools and is featured in the Australian Science Curriculum, as one of the six key organising ideas (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2015). The literature portrays a multitude of complications associated with teaching energy (see Millar, 2005 for a…

The emissions of various types of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from natural and industrial sources are undergoing a great deal of scrutiny around the world. The three main GHGs that are of most concern are carbon dioxide (CO[subscript 2]), nitrous oxide (N[subscript 2]O) and methane (CH[subscript 4]). CO[subscript 2], N[subscript 2]O and CH[subscript…

The first Australian National University (ANU) Science Extension Day was held on September 8, 2015. The ANU Science Extension Day is a project that was initiated by Theodore Primary School (ACT) and developed by Theodore Primary, Calwell High School, Science Educators Association of the ACT (SEA*ACT), and the ANU. The project was developed with a…

Titrations are common laboratory exercises in high school and university chemistry courses, because they are easy, relatively inexpensive, and they illustrate a number of fundamental chemical principles. While students have little difficulty with calculations involving a single titration step, there is a significant leap in conceptual difficulty…

There's always something new happening in the field of Astronomy. This includes the immediate environment surrounding Earth, the Solar system and the universe. This article looks at some of the recent research astronomers have been undertaking this year. Each article has reference to a web site so teachers can find out more information or ask…

This paper is a qualitative, practice based study describing the use of the Focus-Action-Reflection (FAR) Guide (Harrison & Treagust, 2000) to address the shortcomings of a pedagogical analogical model in Year 10 Science. The aim of this paper is to present my experience of the FAR Guide in relation to an analogical model that gave rise to…

Extracting DNA from fruit and vegetables provides students with hands-on opportunities to engage with a visualisation of genetic material that can later be supported by ICT and practical model making. Here is a quick, cheap and easy way to extract DNA from strawberries that avoids the mess involved in other DNA extractions, such as from dried…

The measurement of solar UV under water is not a simple process. In the underwater environment the difficulty of obtaining useable data is greatly amplified due to the optically complicated and at times unpredictable nature of water itself. The following practical exercise designed for use in the Year 11 and Year 12 Physics classroom aims to…

A take-home experiment kit has been developed to reinforce the concepts in a first year physics course that both on and off campus students from a variety of educational backgrounds can successfully use. The kit is inexpensive and is composed of easy to obtain items. The experiments conducted with the kit are directed experiments that require…