Presents an activity to answer the question, "What makes soda pop fizz?". Lists necessary materials and describes the procedure for making soda pop. Discusses the fermentation process and how it occurs. (NB)

Investigates students' understanding of the transfer of charge between two charged conductors. Findings indicate that a considerable number of students from eighth grade to college in advanced physics courses were unable to predict the transfer of charge correctly from one conductor to another. Discusses implications for instruction. (JRH)

Investigates how widespread alternative conceptions of the ionic bond, described as the molecular framework, are. Findings indicate that statements derived from the molecular framework were judged as true by a large proportion of the learners surveyed. Presents the molecular framework as a useful model of learners' alternative conceptions about…

Describes an Earth Day celebration where students had to design an invention made of simple machines that could crush an empty aluminum can through 10 rapid mechanical movements using materials foraged from the students' homes. (JRH)

Describes three levels of understanding science: the phenomena (macroscopic), the particle (microscopic), and the symbolic. Suggests that the objective of science instruction at all levels is conceptual understanding of scientific inquiry. Discusses effective instructional strategies, including analogy, collaborative learning, concept mapping,…

Analyzes physical features of breath-hold diving. Considers the diver's descent and the initial surface dive and presents examples that show the diver's buoyancy equilibrium varying with depth, the driving force supplied by finning, and the effect of friction between the water and the diver. (Author/JRH)

Investigates the patterns of students' conceptual restructuring within the theoretical framework of biologic evolution. Results indicate that many conceptions in this content are closely interwoven, so that a change in one conception requires a change in many others. Reports four patterns of conceptual change: cascade, wholesale, incremental, and…

Presents a teaching strategy to successfully teach the periodic table using nuts and bolts as elemental analogs. Describes activities that enable the student to develop a deeper understanding of the periodic table and how it is organized. (JRH)

Explores some of the principles behind the working of fluorescent bulbs using a specially prepared fluorescent bulb with the white inner fluorescent coating applied along only half its length. Discusses the spectrum, the bulb plasma, and light production. (JRH)

Presents a simple activity to determine the layout of the magnetic poles in a flat rubber or plastic refrigerator magnet. (JRH)

Presents a simulation game that facilitates understanding of the concepts of enzyme kinetics and inhibition. The first part of the game deals with the relationship between enzyme activity and substrate concentration while the second part deals with characterization of competitive and noncompetitive inhibition of enzyme activity. (JRH)

Attempts an explanation of how "ice spikes" are formed. The spikes are upward protrusions of ice that occur when water expands as it cools in a rigid container of low thermal conductivity. Describes the results of an investigation and includes color photos. (LZ)

Outlines the processes behind four master tropes (metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony) and demonstrates instances where these tropes occur in the expression of scientific concepts. Shows that rhetorical and literary tropes are necessary components to a linguistic understanding of complex scientific concepts; that such tropes are, in fact,…

Cartoons illustrating scientific concepts were used in the London Underground and informal learning sites to raise adult awareness of science and promote lifelong learning. They are also being used in formal learning situations such as adult-literacy classes. (SK)