A novel and efficient (34 percent overall) multi-step synthesis of the housefly sex attractant, muscalure, is described. Each of the steps involves types of reactions with which the undergraduate student would be familiar after one-and-one-half semesters of organic chemistry. (BB)

Traces the early history of an experiment, the launching of a copper or aluminum ring above the pole of an alternating current magnet at switch-on, that was conducted by Elihu Thomson in the last century and presents a simple qualitative explanation of the effect involved. (GA)

Describes the design of an experiment that is used to determine the acceleration of an accelerating system with the help of an airtrack and a pendulum. (GA)

Describes demonstrations used by the nineteenth century physicists to determine if two bodies oscillating at the same acoustic frequency were in phase. (GA)

Describes a simple method to measure the size of the Earth to an accuracy of order of magnitude 10 percent. The procedure involves finding the time interval between two sunsets, a sunset observed at sea level while lying down, and a sunset viewed at eye height after standing up. (GA)

Discusses several aspects of Fraunhofer diffraction patterns from apertures illuminated by diverging light. Develops a generalization to apertures of arbitrary shape which shows that the sizes of the pattern are related by a simple scale factor. Uses the Abbe theory of image formation by diffraction to discuss the intensity of illumination of the…

Amylose azure can be used as a chromogenic substrate for alpha-amylase in studying the effects of temperature and pH enzyme action. This is a model system which students can use to measure the energy of activation using the Arrhenius plot. (Author/BB)

Describes undergraduate chemistry curricula in which the student is asked to either build a model of one asymmetric unit in the unit cell and to indicate the positions of the symmetry-related units by putting in key atoms, or to identify on a prebuild model the asymetric and symmetry-related units. (BB)

An inexpensive DNA preparation is presented which starts with commercially available frozen packed bacterial cells. Methods for analyzing the DNA are also presented, along with physical chemical experiments which can be done using the purified DNA. (BB)

Describes an experiment for the intermediate undergraduate optics laboratory designed to illustrate simultaneously some aspects of the phenomena of diffraction; interference, coherence, apodization, the Fresnel-Arago law; as well as of the interrelations between these concepts. (HM)

This study developed and validated an inventory to measure students' attitudes toward and interest in laboratory work in high school chemistry. Factor analysis provided some evidence that interest in and attitude towards laboratory work in high school chemistry is not unidimensional, as it has been assumed to be. (BT)

Reviews research related to laboratory work and makes recommendations for the classroom on how to make labs more meaningful. Argues that pre- and post-laboratory discussions containing theory behind the lab and purposes of the lab are essential for new understanding. (DDR)

Gives a step-by-step description of a problem-solving microscale chemistry laboratory to show how this implementation of problem-solving teaching can be put into practice. Pedagogical and practical issues are discussed. (DKM)

Describes the construction of a simple apparatus that can be used to take advantage of the overhead projector in a spectacular presentation of chemical reactions that complement quantitative approaches of study in the traditional high school science classroom. (JRH)

Describes an approach that uses fiction as a springboard to environmental science experiments and discussions. (JRH)