The analysis of functional groups in organic compounds and inorganic ions in salts is a laboratory experiment that forms an inevitable part of the undergraduate chemistry curriculum in the science field all over the world. With this experiment, the student learns the testing techniques for the chemicals and gets a true sense of the importance of…

Background: Prior research suggests that the teaching of abstract concepts can be enhanced by the use of concrete examples, but there are few controlled studies. Objective: To replicate key findings from experiment one from Rawson et al. (2015). Method: Experiment participants studied definitions of abstract concepts from psychology, either with…

Enzymes are nature's catalysts, mediating chemical processes in living systems. The study of enzyme function and mechanism includes defining the maximum catalytic rate and affinity for substrate/s (among other factors), referred to as enzyme kinetics. Enzyme kinetics is a staple of biochemistry curricula and other disciplines, from molecular and…

The article describes a methodology for studying Fresnel diffraction with the active involvement of students in discussing the results of a demonstration experiment. To create a clearly visible model of Fresnel zones, a centimeter radio wave range was chosen, in which the first zone is about 10 cm in size. This makes visible the created…

We describe here a low-cost experiment for introductory physics students where they compare the physical properties of aluminum and steel by means of cantilever oscillations. This, in turn, allows the students to improve their physical intuition about these materials. Further, the students can apply their physics and mathematics knowledge and…

The CRISPR/Cas9 system is a powerful tool for gene editing and it has become increasingly important for biology students to understand this emerging technique. Most CRISPR laboratory teaching modules use complex metazoan systems or mammalian cell culture which can be expensive. Here, we present a lab module that engages students in learning the…

This research aimed to explore the effects of a virtual lab (VL) and a Microcomputer-based Lab (MBL) on students' performance in scientific modeling. A web-based virtual lab and a low-cost MBL were proposed to help first-year engineering students build scientific models. Empirical research was done in a slope motion experiment. The participants…

To remain globally competitive, education in the United States must focus on retaining students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). As laboratory courses have the potential to be powerful attractors or deterrents to a field, developing effective laboratory pedagogies is important to retain students in STEM. A course-based…

The objective of this work was the theoretical modeling of a construct based on teaching practice about the perception that pupils have of difficulties in problem solving (PS) in experimental sciences, specifically physics, to predict pupil performance in PS. The research was carried out with an incidental sample of second year of secondary…

Progress is made in science by constructing many models (possibly of different complexities), testing them against measurements, and determining which of them explain the data the best. It is my observation, however, that in many introductory physics labs we provide students with the materials and methods to verify the "correct" model of…

Despite the importance of physics practical work in higher education, its implementation is often hampered by various constraints and problems. Technology, such as learning management systems (LMS) and mobile learning, can offer solutions to some of these problems and enrich students' learning experiences. Therefore, this research proposes a model…

A glass of water covered with a disk with a hole in it can be turned upside down without spilling the water in the glass, provided the hole is small enough and the disk is pressed against the rim of the glass. A quasistatic numerical simulation based on hydrostatic pressure and surface tension of water was used calculate the critical hole diameter…

Blood flow through the cardiovascular system is governed by the same physical rules that govern the flow of water through domestic plumbing. Using this analogy in a teaching laboratory, a model of the cardiovascular system constructed of pumps and pipes was used to demonstrate the basic interactions of pressure, flow, and resistance in a regulated…

In this paper, we present a physical modeling activity whose objective is to allow students to determine the differences between a disk and a sphere using pure scientific criteria. Thereunto, we reproduce the Sun-Earth-Moon system with low-cost materials and compare the illumination effects on the Moon considering two possible shapes for it (a…

It is common in science for two phenomena to appear to be very different, but in fact follow from the same basic principles. Here we consider such a case, the connection between the chain fountain and a bullet-block collision experiment. When an upward moving bullet strikes a wooden block resting on a horizontal table, the block will rise to a…