Describes a demonstration on the stability of a ladder. Provides the demonstration method, diagram showing forces acting on a ladder, and three demonstration pictures. (YP)

Asks the relationship between mass and skidding distance. Provides a problem with illustrations and an answer. (YP)

Examines how readers overcome their misconceptions about the principles of motion. Finds that students overcome misconceptions when their prior knowledge is activated, regardless of whether they read text that supports or refutes those misconceptions. Finds that students using several processing strategies have an advantage over students using…

Describes Neptune through Voyager 2 including the discovery, location, atmosphere, ring arcs, radiation, two satellites, and Voyager's goals. Provides several diagrams and pictures. (YP)

Reports a study of year-nine students' understanding of concepts related to acids and alkalis using collaborative concept mapping. (MKR)

Discusses a method for teaching introductory physics courses that reverses the traditional sequence of instruction and is based on beginning all lecture treatments with discussions of complex, yet familiar phenomena and working backward to discussions of the simple physical laws underlying them. (Author/MKR)

This article reports on a study that was designed to describe prospective elementary teachers' prior verbal and diagrammatic knowledge about various aspects of light, seeing, shadows, and mirror images. Data were collected through individual interviews using simple apparatus. Included are some inferences about how students' ideas may have emerged…

Discusses students' understanding of the qualitative conservation of matter and how this understanding is influenced by previous instruction in chemistry and task variables. Results show the influence of group membership, task content, and problem context on students' performance. (ZWH)

Provides a historical account of some of the explanations that were posed to describe the behavior of gases. Emphases are placed on gas theories presented by John Dalton. (ZWH)

Describes a study that examined student (n=100) understanding of five chemistry concepts: (1) chemical change; (2) dissolution; (3) conservation of atoms; (4) periodicity; and (5) phase changes. Conclusions included that the use of particulate terms increased across grade levels and reasoning ability is a significant factor for student…

Describes the construction and use of an electrooptic apparatus that can be incorporated into the classroom to test liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and introduce students to experiments of an applied physics nature with very practical implications. Presents experiments that give students hands-on experience with technologies of current interest to…

Presents activities that use the learning cycle to engage students in meaningful inquiries in the study of Mendelian genetics. Includes content-related background and teaching tips for each phase of the learning cycle. (JRH)

Presents an activity that aims at enabling students to recognize that DNA and RNA are information molecules whose function is to store, copy, and make available the information in biological systems, without feeling overwhelmed by the specialized vocabulary and the minutia of the central dogma. (JRH)

Analyzes students' attempts to answer examination questions involving stoichiometry and chemical equilibrium and reports that the majority of the students do not fully understand either concept. Concludes that the main difficulty with these topics is that they are highly abstract and first taught to students before they have reached the stage of…