Evaluates the effectiveness of student interaction in computer assisted instruction (CAI) in enhancing achievement in chemistry laboratories. One group of students interacted with the computer in simulated laboratory activities; a second group did not interact. Advantages of interactive CAI were found for tasks requiring interpretation and…

Twelve court cases involving laboratory situations are reviewed in chronological order. Report includes five statements indicating when an instructor is not liable as well as guidelines to improve laboratory safety and provide some measure of liability protection for the instructor. (JN)

Two demonstrations are described: (1) a sunset effect using a gooseneck lamp and 20 sheets of paper and (2) the preparation and determination of structural features of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) by infrared spectroscopy. (SK)

Summarizes research funding issues and concerns discussed at a symposium on government and industry support for university research. Describes efforts by the Council for Chemical Research, a combined university-industry organization, to generate funds and to improve communication between academic and university scientists. (DC)

Describes a three-hour, one-semester graduate course to provide numerical methods and modeling techniques to handle problems in future courses or engineering practice. Includes rationale for topics such as interpolation, integration, and equation roots, among others. Indicates that all problems require computer use. (SK)

A Higher Education Research Institute pilot study of the reputations of undergraduate departments is discussed. The intent of the study was to quantify the subjective judgments of undergraduate departmental quality and to investigate the association of ratings on different criteria and for different types of institutions. (MLW)

Results of three studies comparing lecture/discussion to a Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) suggest that students perform better using PSI. (SK)

Discusses when the writing of chemical formula and equations can be introduced in the school science curriculum. Also presents ways in which formulae and equations learning can be aided and some examples for balancing and interpreting equations. (HM)

Presents the aims of the University of Amsterdam's Center for Research into Higher Education and describes two projects: (1) PLATO Pilot Project Amsterdam, a university-wide program in computer-assisted instruction; and (2) "Exercise in Chemical Problem-Solving," computer simulations designed to aid students in developing problem-solving…

A learning cycle involves the active participation of students in exploration, invention, and application phases. Describes one such learning cycle dealing with classification of matter and designed to provide students with an understanding of the terms: atom, molecule, element, compound, solution, and heterogeneous matter. (Author/JN)

Described is an experiment used in an undergraduate biochemistry laboratory involving inducing rickets in chicks and correlating the disease to a reduction in vitamin D-dependent calcium binding protein. Techniques involved are hormone induction, protein isolation, and radioisotope methodology. (Author/DS)

Discussed are several suggestions for the maintenance of a science self-paced classroom. Topics include the use of computers for student self-assessment, teachers and students roles in the self-paced classroom, and laboratory setup and packaging in the self-paced science laboratory. (Author/DS)

Discusses an addition to an apparatus which allows the effect of temperature on a paramagnetic compound to be measured, therefore demonstrating the Curie-Weiss law. The experiment can be used as a demonstration or student experiment to stimulate discussion of magnetic susceptibility and ligand field trips. (Author/JN)

Presents three different procedures in which reagents are added in a specified order to a large beaker containing an aqueous solution of nickel sulfate. Complex ions of nickel (II) are prepared by using aqueous solutions of ammonia, ethylenediamine, dimethylglyoxime, and cyanide ion. (CS)

Presents an experiment for inorganic, organic, or physical chemistry students utilizing acid-base titrimetry to study the stoichiometric of a solid state reaction. Time involved ranges from one to three, three-hour lab periods. (Author/SA)