This lesson can be used at the beginning of the year to teach students how to conduct inquiries using the essential features described in "Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards" (NRC 1996). The lesson is divided into several activities which may be spread over several days or interspersed with your other beginning-of-the-year…

Many studies have stressed students' lack of understanding of experiments in laboratories. Some researchers suggest that if students design all or parts of entire experiment, as part of an inquiry-based approach, it would overcome certain difficulties. It requires that a procedure be written for experimental design. The aim of this paper is to…

Vivisection (live animal experimentation) is a controversial issue for many people. The purpose of this case study is to examine the attitudes of prospective teachers toward vivisection in education and research, to determine if gender has an influence on these attitudes, and to discuss the implications of these attitudes with regard to teaching…

A common moving-coil loudspeaker is useful for learning harmonic motion. A simple optical method is used to observe free and forced oscillations of the diaphragm of a loudspeaker. With a lock-in amplifier and data-acquisition system, the frequency response of the loudspeaker and its electrical impedance are automatically recorded versus frequency.…

Curzon and Ahlborn achieved finite power output by introducing the concept of finite rate of heat transfer in a Carnot engine. The finite power can also be achieved through a finite speed of the piston on the four branches of the Carnot cycle. The present paper combines these two approaches to study the behaviour of output power in terms of…

This paper describes how to calculate measurement uncertainties using as a practical example the assessment of the thickness of ping-pong balls and their material density. The advantages of a randomized experiment are also discussed. This experiment can be reproduced in the physics laboratory for undergraduate students. (Contains 7 tables, 1…

In discussing motors, one college textbook says, "As the coil (of a motor) rotates in a magnetic field, a back emf is generated that tends to counter the emf that supplies the current." This is a true statement, but it does little to enhance student understanding of how and why it is created. In this paper, I will explain how to take students step…

Natural selection is the mechanism of evolution caused by the environmental selection of organisms most fit to reproduce, sometimes explained as "survival of the fittest." An example of evolution by natural selection is the development of bacteria that are resistant to antimicrobial agents as a result of exposure to these agents. Triclosan, which…

Lipid rafts have been implicated in numerous cellular processes including cell signaling, endocytosis, and even viral infection. Isolation of these lipid rafts often involves detergent treatment of the membrane to dissolve nonraft components followed by separation of raft regions in a density gradient. We present here an inquiry-based lab series…

We examine the respective roles of substantive understanding (i.e., understanding of factual knowledge, concepts, laws and theories) and procedural understanding (an understanding of ideas about evidence; concepts such as reliability and validity, measurement and calibration, data collection, measurement error, the ability to interpret evidence…

The introduction of dwarfing traits into crops was a major factor in increased grain yields during the "Green Revolution." In most cases those traits were the consequence of altered synthesis or response to the gibberellin (GA) plant hormones. Our current understanding of GA synthesis and physiology has been facilitated by the characterization of…

Context-aware ubiquitous learning (u-learning) is an innovative approach that integrates wireless, mobile, and context-awareness technologies to detect the situation of learners in the real world and provide adaptive support or guidance accordingly. In this paper, a context-aware u-learning environment is developed for guiding inexperienced…

This paper describes a process control experiment. The apparatus includes a three-vessel glass flow system with a variable flow configuration, means for feeding dye solution controlled by a stepper-motor driven valve, and a flow spectrophotometer. Students use impulse response data and nonlinear regression to estimate three parameters of a model…

We present a modified version of Young's interferometer to verify experimentally the four interference laws propounded by Fresnel and Arago. Theoretical analysis is given using the complex algebra and the matrix representation for polarizers, rotators and the electromagnetic field. The advantage of the modified interferometer over other spatial…

Theoretical models and experimental results are presented for the retarded fall of a strong magnet inside a vertical conductive non-magnetic tube. Predictions and experimental results are in good agreement modelling the magnet as a simple magnetic dipole. The effect of varying the pipe wall thickness on the retarding magnetic drag is studied for…