Electricity is an important and challenging science topic at all school levels. Learners often have many difficulties in learning electricity. Previous attempts to overcome these difficulties have been rather one-sided, leaning only on one method at the time, and thus ineffective. As a solution, a learning environment which combines the strengths…

The use of the method of self-explanations to gain knowledge on students' conception of the chemical equilibrium concepts is reported in this paper. The analysis provides information on: (1) a general indication of students' understanding of materials related to chemical equilibrium, (2) a deep investigation of problem solving skills associated…

This paper presents ideas for and examples of using poetry to teach science at the middle school and high school levels. These poems can be used to teach science lessons because they contain science terms. Students will learn science while defining and discussing these terms and realize that science relates to everything. The poems are "A Snow…

This paper describes major changes undertaken in two undergraduate physics courses from traditional lecture method to an inquiry-based method that facilitates active student engagement and changes in the modeling approach to learning. Students' conceptual understanding of physics concepts were evaluated by quasi-experimental design, and the Reform…

"Bug City" is a video series created to help children learn about insects and other small critters. All aspects of bug life are touched upon including body structure, food, habitat, life cycle, mating habits, camouflage, mutualism (symbiosis), adaptations, social behavior, and more. Each program features dramatic microscopic photography,…

Research shows that one of the most important prerequisites for student success is for teachers to understand and respect individuals from different cultures, and to understand the communities from which they come (Ilmer, Synder, Erbaugh & Kurtz, 1997). Thus, if we want students to succeed, what they bring into the science classroom in terms of…

This chemistry textbook presents a beginning course for schools or colleges. It presents a more complete classification than usual according to chemical analogies, the explanation of chemical phenomena in ordinary language, as well as symbols, and the addition of a complete set of formulae in the appendix. A number of recent and important…

This chemistry textbook presents a beginning course for schools or colleges. It presents a more complete classification than usual according to chemical analogies, the explanation of chemical phenomena in ordinary language, as well as symbols, and the addition of a complete set of formulae in the appendix. A number of recent and important…

Discusses Jacobus Henricus van't Hoff's revolutionary theory of the asymmetric carbon atom and its early reception among his contemporaries in the Netherlands. Indicates that the extension of the new idea to practical problems gives the impetus to the development of stereochemistry. (CC)

Presents fundamentals of the glassy state which can serve as an introductory, phenomenological, and nonmathematical exposure to undergraduates in at most two lectures. Suggests the use of the material following students' acquisition of an elementary knowledge of thermodynamics, liquids, and the crystalline state. (CC)

Discusses the flow characteristics of thixotropic and negative thixotropic fluids; various theories underlying the thixotropic behavior; and thixotropic phenomena exhibited in drilling muds, commercial paints, pastes, and greases. Inconsistencies in the terminology used to label time dependent effects are revealed. (CC)

Discusses the design of a device which serves to demonstrate the principle of acceleration and phase stability by accelerating gravitationally a ball bearing along a spiral groove. Application of the design principle to the acceleration aspect of a linear accelerator is recommended. (CC)

Discusses an experiment which illustrates the non-mixing properties of water at normal temperature with oil because of water's strong, open-ended hydrogen bonding interactions. Examples of the mixing properties between non-interacting substances and the near-complete mixing between water and solvents with limited H-bonding capacity are also given.…

Describes several demonstrations designed to dispel student misconceptions relating to falling bodies. An object moving with a horizontal velocity is shown to fall to the earth as quickly as a free falling object dropped from the same height. (JR)