It is shown that the well-known linear variation of p-n diode terminal voltage with temperature at different fixed forward currents allows easy and accurate determination of the semiconductor ideality factor and bandgap from only two data points. This is possible if the temperature difference required to maintain the same diode voltage drop can be…

Glass beads are placed in the compartments of a horizontal square grid. This grid is then vertically shaken. According to the reduced acceleration [image omitted] of the system, the granular material exhibits various behaviours. By counting the number of beads in each compartment after shaking, it is possible to define three regimes. At low…

In 2 experiments, 241 undergraduates with low domain knowledge viewed a tutorial on how to use Packet Tracer (PT), a computer-networking training simulation developed by the Cisco Networking Academy. Participants were then tested on retention of tutorial content and transfer using PT. Tutorial modality (text, narration, or narration plus text) was…

Choice reactions to a property of an object stimulus are often faster when the location of a graspable part of the object corresponds with the location of a keypress response than when it does not, a phenomenon called the object-based Simon effect. Experiments 1-3 examined this effect for variants of teapot stimuli that were oriented to the left…

Children aged 3 years and 4 1/2 years old watched a puppet, struggling to achieve goals, who was helped by a 2nd puppet and violently hindered by a 3rd. The children then distributed wooden biscuits between the helper and hinderer. In Experiment 1, when distributing a small odd number of biscuits, 4 1/2-year-olds (N = 16) almost always gave more…

This paper investigates the idea that the framing of learning and transfer contexts can influence students' propensity to transfer what they have learned. We predicted that transfer would be promoted by framing contexts in an expansive manner in which students are positioned as having the opportunity to contribute to larger conversations that…

It is often challenging, especially at the beginning of a course, to find good examples where students can actively explore and grapple with the methods of science. We want them to learn the connection between observation, theory, prediction, evidence, and falsification, but to really accomplish this we need platforms for which the students are…

Recent neurolinguistic studies present somewhat conflicting evidence concerning the role of the inferior temporal cortex (IT) in visual word recognition within the first 200 ms after presentation. On the one hand, fMRI studies of the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA) suggest that the IT might recover representations of the orthographic form of words.…

Emphasis on neuropsychiatric frameworks of conceptualizing troubled youth is increasing. This focus leads to more biologically-based interventions. As such, the use of psychotropic medications is skyrocketing, while the utilization of psychosocial strategies is diminishing. Yet overall outcomes seem to be faltering. Admissions to outpatient,…

The synthesis and characterization of two copper(II) complexes, [Cu(deen)[subscript 2]](BF4)[subscript 2] and [Cu(deen)[subscript 2]](NO[subscript 3])[subscript 2] (deen = N,N-diethylethylenediamine), that show interesting thermochromic properties, are described. The subtle alternation of coordination geometry around Cu(II) is responsible for the…

Some peculiarities of the heat transfer through a sample that is heated by the superficial absorption of light energy under continuous uniform illumination are discussed. We explain, using a different approach to that presented in a recent article published in this journal (Salazar "et al" 2010 "Eur. J. Phys." 31 1053-9), that the front surface of…

1This article describes how, by incorporating NASA's Students' Cloud Observations On-Line (S'COOL) project into a problem-based learning (PBL) activity, middle school students are engaged in authentic scientific research where they observe and record information about clouds and contribute ground truth data to NASA's Clouds and the Earth's…

Graphs are important for supporting critical thinking and scientific argumentation because students can use them to reason, make judgments and decisions, and solve problems like a scientist (Connery 2007). Yet teaching students how to use math to actually think critically continues to be difficult for teachers. This article describes two…

Education is an ever-changing field, yet constants remain: A teacher must be able to motivate students to become lifelong learners. Science has much to offer--the excitement that comes from discovery and learning can carry over into adulthood. Science provides an avenue for students to encounter phenomena in their environment and to discover…

In 2006, Marcus du Sautoy delivered the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures on the subject of mathematics. From this, a workshop was created using ideas illustrated in the programme. A group of mathematical students from the University of Oxford, known as Marcus' Marvellous Mathemagicians, were trained in this workshop and now travel to schools…