A simple experiment for undergraduate organic chemistry students to separate a colorless mixture using column chromatography and then monitor the outcome of the separation using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and infrared spectroscopy(IR) is described. The experiment teaches students the principle and techniques of column and thin-layer…

Live organisms versus digital video of the organisms were used to challenge students' naive ideas and misconceptions about blood, the heart, and circulatory patterns. Three faculty members taught 259 grade 10 biology students in a California high school with students from diverse ethnolinguistic groups who were divided into 5 classes using…

Method development and assessment, central components of carrying out chemical research, require problem-solving skills. This article describes a pedagogical approach for teaching these skills through the adaptation of published experiments and application of group-meeting style discussions to the curriculum of an undergraduate instrumental…

Laboratory and practical courses, where students become familiar with experimental techniques and learn to interpret data and relate them to appropriate theory, play a vital role in chemical education. In the large panoply of currently available techniques, it is difficult to find a rational and easy way to classify the techniques in relation to…

Images are powerful means of communicating scientific results; a strong image can underscore an experimental result more effectively than any words, whereas a poor image can readily undermine a result or conclusion. Developmental biologists rely extensively on images to compare normal versus abnormal development and communicate their results. Most…

The authors illustrate an effective lesson-planning technique known as unpacking for the broad topic of water. Interconnections among science disciplines are shown for numerous possible subtopics. Two lesson sets are included, the first dealing with properties of water and the second dealing with water as a resource. (Contains 1 table and 4…

This experiment uses a radioactive technique to determine the relative leaving abilities of chloride and iodide in nucleophilic substitution reactions. (DT)

Two experiments are described which illustrate preparative as well as mechanistic features of the reactions of halogens with alkanes and alkenes. (DT)

By concentrating radioactivity contained on luminous dials, a teacher can make a high reading source for classroom experiments on radiation. The preparation of the source and its uses are described. (DT)

Describes a method for direct calculation of energy levels by using elementary techniques. Describes the limitations of the approach but also claims that with a minimum amount of labor a student can get greater understanding of atomic physics problems. (PS)

Suggests a first-order experiment that can be used to establish the Lorentz transformation without considering the constancy of light velocity or the full set of Maxwell's equations. Involves the use of a long solenoid to create an electric field in a moving magnetic field. (LC)

Supplies procedure, testing questions, and sample working graph for an activity in testing an operating principle of small gasoline engine. (MU)