Maria lifts up a book from the table. Dietre eats cereal for breakfast. Akisha winds up a toy robot. Jacob puts batteries in a flashlight. These seemingly dissimilar events demonstrate various ways children experience energy daily. The authors have used these lessons successfully for several years and have been continually impressed with the…

This article describes the rationale for, and development of, an online instrument that helps identify commonly held science misconceptions. Science Beliefs is a 47-item instrument that targets topics in chemistry, physics, biology, earth science, and astronomy. It utilizes a true or false, along with a written-explanation, format. The true or…

Students have difficulties in physics because of the abstract nature of concepts and principles. One of the effective methods for overcoming students' difficulties is the use of analogies to visualize abstract concepts to promote conceptual understanding. According to Iding, analogies are consistent with the tenets of constructivist learning…

When first encountered, inverse square laws can damage the confidence of beginning physics students whose maths skills are uncertain. Engaging in practical exercises that help them work with the idea can be a great help. We have used the following apparatus for a number of years and our students understand and enjoy the exercise.

The technique of distance sampling is widely used to monitor biological populations. This paper documents an in-class activity to introduce students to the concepts and the mechanics of distance sampling in a simple situation that is relevant to their own experiences. Preparation details are described. Variations and extensions to the activity are…

Young infants tend to look longer at physical events that have unexpected outcomes than those that have expected outcomes, suggesting that they have knowledge of physical principles such as numerosity and occlusion (Baillargeon & Graber, 1987; Wynn, 1992). Although infants are typically tested in the presence of a caregiver, the social component…

The authors' purpose is to help students clarify the difference between scientific laws and scientific theories. Understanding the nature of science is important to our students; however, persistent misconceptions, such as misunderstandings about scientific laws and theories, are still present. In this two-part activity, students will have a…

Many topics in the secondary science classroom can be difficult to introduce to students in a manner that fully engages them, especially when presented using traditional teaching methods. However, with a little innovation and an emphasis on inquiry, even dry subjects can be presented in an appealing way. The authors developed an inquiry-based…

Construction details are provided for simple heat engines that use candle wax and elastomers as working substances. The engines are constructed using common household materials and can be easily constructed in a school classroom or at home. They work reliably and are useful tools for demonstrating the conversion of heat to mechanical work. They…

We illustrate the derivations of Jeans' criteria for the gravitational instabilities in a static homogeneous Newtonian system for pedagogical objectives. The critical Jeans density surface is presented in terms of dimensionless sound speeds and (characteristic) length scales. (Contains 1 figure.)

Contextual support for performance and understanding plays an important role in learning and teaching. This study investigated the temporal course of the effects of support--how it affects complexity and correctness of judgments about density in kindergarten (n = 35) and second-grade (n = 29) children. In the experimental group, a teacher provided…

For many grandchildren their grandparents are "special" people, and the time they spend together often generates memorable experiences and conversations that are educational. Yet society underestimates the impact that grandparents have as mentors and role models for children. Through spontaneous, shared activities grandparents support the science…

The conceptual understanding of Archimedes' principle can be verified in experimental procedures which determine mass and density using a floating object. This is demonstrated by simple experiments using graduated beakers. (Contains 5 figures.)

The separation of ferrocene and acetylferrocene by column chromatography is a widely used experiment in undergraduate organic labs. The experiment was expanded into a three-component mixture to increase the challenge of the experiment and to make TLC analysis necessary. (Contains 2 figures.)

A series of magnet trade books were analyzed against a validated list of magnet concepts (Barrow, 1990a) and their Flesch (1974) Readability was determined. These trade books were used to supplement a second grade unit on magnetism locally constructed from AIM's "Mostly Magnets" (1991). All trade books accurately described how like and unlike…