Presents a demonstration in which a mirror "disappears" upon rotation. The author has used the demonstration with students from fourth grade up through college. Suggestions are given for making the demonstration into a permanent hallway display. (MVL)

Explains why silver, which has the same external electronic configuration as copper and gold, does not appear yellow: white light reflects on most metals without color absorption or change to the naked eye; however, copper and gold appear yellow because they absorb "blue" and "red" photons during electron transitions between…

Describes Herschel's demonstration of interference arising from many coherent rays. Presents a method for students to reproduce this demonstration and obtain beautiful multiple-beam interference patterns. (CCM)

Presents an alternative experimental arrangement that results in a considerable cost savings by reducing the number of sensors and other apparati required while giving excellent quantitative results for comparison with theory. (Author/CCM)

Describes an open-ended investigation in which students have to look into a feature of lens performance that is not commonly found in textbook materials on optics. Presents explanations and sample results. (WRM)

Suggests using activities from "Physics Resources and Instructional Strategies for Motivating Students" designed to promote student understanding of physics principles. The activities are part of a learning cycle in which student explorations of concrete phenomena precede the introduction or development of abstract concepts. (SAH)

Presents an approach to the study of real lenses that would not contradict Fermat's principle. Shows how the rudiments of the correct theory can be incorporated into courses to provide students a clearer notion of what they can expect in laboratory situations. (DDR)

Effects of prior exposure to the experimental chamber with levers present or absent and variable-time (VT) 60-s water deliveries arranged during one, five, or no 1-hr sessions were examined in rats during a 6-hr response-acquisition session in which presses on one lever produced water delivery immediately or after a 15-s resetting delay, and…

A device designed to demonstrate the dependence of viscosity on temperature and to check the validity of the exponential relationship is described. The device has the advantage of versatility as it can be adapted to different types of viscosimeters.

Our research addressed the question of whether sensitivity to relative reinforcer magnitude in concurrent chains depends on the distribution of reinforcer delays when the terminal-link schedules are equal. In Experiment 1, 12 pigeons responded in a two-component procedure. In both components, the initial links were concurrent variable-interval 40…

This article describes the development and validation of the Light and Spectroscopy Concept Inventory (LSCI), a 26-item diagnostic test designed (1) to measure students' conceptual understanding of topics related to light and spectroscopy, and (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of instructional interventions in promoting meaningful learning gains…

This book is a collection of classroom demonstrations in physics designed to present basic scientific ideas on a concrete level. The topics covered include: physical change and properties of matter; energy waves and energy forms; absorption of heat; radiant energy; vacuum bottles; kinetic molecular theory; states of matter; pressure of air; work…

This book contains scaled-down versions of Exploratorium exhibits that teachers can make using common, inexpensive, easily available materials. Each topic begins with a drawing of the original exhibit on the museum floor, a photograph of the scaled-down version which contains an introduction to the exhibit, a list of materials needed with…

Discusses various topics in color chemistry, including the electromagnetic spectrum, the absorption and reflection of light, additive and subtractive color mixing, and the molecular structure of simple colored substances. (MLH)