The "Biotechnology Discoveries and Applications" guidebook aims to provide teachers with an overview of the recent advances in genetics and biotechnology, allowing them to share these findings with their students. The annual guidebook introduces a wealth of modern genomic discoveries and provides teachers with tools to integrate exciting…

The purposes of the study were to analyse the promotion of scientific literacy through practical research activities and to identify children's conceptions about scientists and how they do science. Elementary school children were engaged in two scientific experiments in a marine biology research laboratory. A total of 136 students answered a…

We investigate the electromagnetic induction phenomenon for a "falling," "oscillating" and "swinging" magnet and a coil, with the help of a datalogger. For each situation, we discuss the salient aspects of the phenomenon, with the aid of diagrams, and relate the motion of the magnet to its mathematical and graphical representations. Using various…

An engaging and colorful demonstration was developed that illustrates the utility of resonance theory in predicting the relative acidities of alcohols. The demonstration can be used as an introduction to exercises that provide students with practice in writing resonance structures and in predicting relative acidities. The demonstration exploits…

The physical properties of oxygen, in particular, the blue color of the liquid phase, the red glow of its chemiluminescence, and its paramagnetism as shown by the entrapment or deflection of liquid oxygen by a magnetic field, can be investigated in a regular school setting with hand-held spectrophotometers and digital cameras. In college-level…

A wash bottle water displacement scheme is used to determine the kinetics of the iodide-catalyzed H[subscript 2]O[subscript 2] decomposition reaction. The reagents (total volume 5.00 mL) are added to a test tube that is placed in a wash bottle containing water. The mass of the water displaced in [approximately]60 s is measured. The reaction is…

Advanced chemistry students are introduced to surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) by studying how sodium copper chlorophyllin (CuChl) adsorbs onto silver colloids (CuChl/Ag) as a function of pH. Using both SERRS and visible extinction spectroscopy, the extent of CuChl adsorption and colloidal aggregation are monitored. Initially at…

The Crime Scene Labs is a technology-enhanced unit with seven laboratory stations. Probes at many of the stations facilitate students collecting and analyzing their own data (some lessons are adapted from Volz and Sapatka 2000). The labs are designed to build 21st-century skills and model reform-based practices (NRC 1996). The crime scene allows…

The late Tom Chester, in his role as the British Lichen Society churchyard coordinator, did a great deal to encourage the use of the churchyard as an educational tool. In his honour, the Society has created an award as part of its "Lichen Project". When the Society approached the Association for Science Education (ASE) for help in…

In our upper-year instrumental analytical chemistry course, we have developed "cut-and-paste" exercises where students "build" models of analytical instruments from individual schematic images of components. These exercises encourage active learning by students. Instead of trying to memorize diagrams, students are required to think deeply about…

We present a physically interesting toy, which is easily constructed and operated--the so-called buzzer. In spite of its simplicity, its physical analysis turns out to be rather complex. Thus, it comes as no surprise that most of its users are not familiar with the underlying physical mechanism. In this paper we propose a physical model which…

Unlike many other topics in basic physics, series and parallel resistances are rarely noticed in the real life of an ordinary individual, making it difficult to design a laboratory activity that can simulate something familiar. The activities described here entail minimal costs and are based on a puzzle-like game of tracking wire connections. A…

Transforming science curricula into multicultural science curricula requires the infusion of materials and perspectives often omitted from classroom textbooks. One strategy that may help the development of such lessons is to design lessons that incorporate the cultural history behind the concept being taught. Presented in this article is a…

This article describes a lesson where students explore the absorbency of several towels with different weaves and weights. The lesson follows the 5E learning-cycle model and incorporates engineering in the sense of product testing with a focus on the relationship between the weave of a towel and its absorbency. The National Science Education…

Silently, invisibly, ceaselessly, our planet Earth is showered by radio waves from every direction and from every region of space. This radio energy originates in our solar system, throughout the Milky Way galaxy, and far beyond, out to the remotest reaches of the universe. Detecting and unraveling the origins of these invisible signals is what…