Describes an experiment to study the motion of a rocket-propelled vehicle over the entire duration of the engine burn using a video system with a frame-by-frame playback and a Sonic Ranger for ultrasonic position movements. Enables students to study the impulse-momentum principle and the effects of a time-varying force. (JRH)

Presents a series of investigations focusing on the biodegradable packing materials ("peanuts"), which provide a method for exploring science through experimentation. These activities can help fourth through sixth graders sharpen their critical thinking and science process skills. (PR)

Contains three demonstrations to help students develop an adequate understanding of the nature of science. Two use the inquiry method to show students the importance of evidence in formulating explanations, and the third uses the history of science to show that science is tentative as well as based on evidence. (LZ)

Describes the involvement of students in the construction of an inexpensive wooden balance to aid in their understanding of mass. (ZWH)

Uses common equipment (tea kettle and vacuum bottles) to precisely measure the specific heat, latent heat of fusion, and latent heat of vaporization of water. Provides descriptions for all three experiments. (MVL)

Students construct a Sierpinski gasket from resistors and measure its resistance as a function of size. Provides a brief review of what it means geometrically for the Sierpinski gasket to be fractal, followed by an explanation of how to analyze the electrical resistance on a gasket to find its fractal behavior. (MVL)

Describes content and conduct of a course that deals with animal use. Exposes students to a variety of perspectives from extreme to moderate concerning uses and abuses of animals. Appendix lists resources for animal uses and abuses seminar. (JRH)

Explores the neural and hormonal basis of human intellectual function that gives rise to sex differences in the brain. Discusses behavioral, neurological, endocrinological studies, and studies of the effects of hormones on brain functioning that show a relationship between cognitive variations and sex. (MCO)

Discusses computational studies of learning in artificial neural networks and findings that may provide insights into the learning abilities of the human brain. Describes efforts to test theories about brain information processing, using artificial neural networks. Vignettes include information concerning how a neural network represents…

Provides guidelines for translating university science laboratories into middle school science activities. The need for guidelines is based on the authors' discovery that teachers teach what they were taught. Discusses six expected outcomes of middle school science activities: developing science concepts; practicing process skills; quantitative…

This article describes a simple and rapid method for using summer squash to investigate born deficiency in plants. Author asserts that students are likely to feel challenged by laboratory exercises and projects that focus on the role boron plays in plant growth because it is an unresolved problem in biology. (PR)

Outlines the highlights of experiments that allow students to trace the historical development of our understandings of cosmic rays. The experiments provide for two outdoor fieldwork experiences, indoor laboratory work, and an opportunity for a group of students to show originality and initiative. (ZWH)

Independent descriptive (correlational) and functional (experimental) analyses, conducted with six subjects with profound mental retardation exhibiting self-injurious behavior (SIB), found that the descriptive analysis was useful in identifying the extent to which SIB was related to social versus nonsocial contingencies but was limited in its…

Presents a simple, inexpensive, and effective activity that allows students to explore ecosystems. (ZWH)