Discusses the application of the laws of physics to natural phenomena, including Jackrabbit ears, transparent atmosphere, formation of ice, and long-wave radiation. (YP)

Sixty-one undergraduate students used a taxonomic instructional aid, a mnemonic aid, or their own methods to master the content of a passage describing a plant classification system and the distinguishing characteristics of the plant groups within that system. The demonstrated advantages of mnemonic strategies are discussed. (SLD)

Derives the current in the wire joining two points when n points are joined two by two by wires of equal resistance, and two of them are connected to the electrodes of a battery of electromotive force E and resistance R. (YP)

Discusses fluid mechanics for undergraduates including the differential Navier-Stokes equations, dimensional analysis and simplified dimensionless numbers, control volume principles, the Reynolds lubrication equation for confined and free surface flows, capillary pressure, and simplified perturbation techniques. Provides a vertical dip coating…

Asks whether the masses of a block of wood and a block of iron with the same weight are different. Discusses the buoyancy of air involved in the problem. (YP)

Explores how some of the work in the history and philosophy of science might develop a more adequate understanding of students' untutored ideas. Describes how students' views can be interpreted. Explains and discusses the merits of commonsense-scientific theory analogy. (YP)

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)