Thirty-six pre-university chemistry students and two chemistry teachers used flow chemistry as a technology for the synthesis of methyl orange. FutureChemistry and VU University Amsterdam cooperatively created FlowStart Remote, a device that enabled the students to remotely conduct this synthesis and in real time monitor and control the device via…

The purposes of the study were to analyse the promotion of scientific literacy through practical research activities and to identify children's conceptions about scientists and how they do science. Elementary school children were engaged in two scientific experiments in a marine biology research laboratory. A total of 136 students answered a…

According to Klahr's (2000, 2005; Klahr & Dunbar, 1988) Scientific Discovery as Dual Search model, inquiry processes require three cognitive components: hypothesis generation, experimentation, and evidence evaluation. The aim of the present study was to investigate (a) when the ability to evaluate perfect covariation, imperfect covariation,…

The United States currently lags behind globally in the areas of math and science. In order to compete and meet the skills necessary for the future workforce, it has become necessary to seek out instructional strategies that will increase student achievement in those academic areas. With the wide variety of diversity occurring in public schools…

Coherent judgment is a cardinal feature of rational cognition. Six experiments revealed systematic violations of coherence in probability judgment in which participants assigned different probabilities to mathematically equiprobable events. Experiments 1-5 revealed a "strict refocusing effect": Compared to an occurrence frame, a non-occurrence…

Ensemble approaches have been shown to enhance classification by combining the outputs from a set of voting classifiers. Diversity in error patterns among base classifiers promotes ensemble performance. Multi-task learning is an important characteristic for Neural Network classifiers. Introducing a secondary output unit that receives different…

The world faces pervasive poverty and inequality. Hundreds of billions of dollars in international aid have been given or loaned to developing countries though bilateral and multilateral mechanisms, at least, ostensibly, in order to do something about these problems. Has such aid helped? Debates around this question have been ongoing for decades,…

This paper addresses a controversy regarding the effect of bottle material on the thermal performance of beverage bottles. Experiments and calculations that verify or refute advertising claims and represent an interesting way to teach heat transfer fundamentals are described. Heat transfer coefficients and the resistance to heat transfer offered…

Millikan's oil-drop experiment is one of the classic experiments from the history of physics. Due to its content (the determination of the elementary charge) it is also among those experiments that are frequently used and discussed in teaching situations. Disappointingly, a review of the educational literature on this experiment reveals that its…

An individual over age 18 can purchase a hearing aid online or through mail order if they sign a waiver declining a medical evaluation, while those under 18 are required to be seen by a physician to obtain medical consent. However, in many states there is nothing to prevent a parent or caregiver from purchasing hearing aids for their child from a…

Citrus fruit (oranges, tangerines, grapefruit or lemons) purchased in a grocery store can be experimentally infected with readily-available sources of "Penicillium digitatum" to demonstrate the four basic steps of Koch's postulates, also known as proof of pathogenicity. The mould is isolated from naturally-infected citrus fruit into pure culture…

Vast quantities, on the order of megatons, of pollutants are emitted monthly to the atmosphere both by natural and anthropogenic sources. The evaluation of rainwater composition has great importance in understanding the atmospheric chemical composition, as water drops scavenge particles and soluble atmospheric pollutants. Most students are aware…

This experiment employs current technology to enhance and extend existing lab content. The basic principles of spectroscopic and electroanalytical techniques and their use in determining material properties are covered in some detail in many undergraduate chemistry programs. However, there are limited examples of laboratory experiments with in…

We present a multiweek laboratory exercise that exposes students to the fundamental techniques of bacterial expression and protein purification through the preparation of sperm whale myoglobin. Myoglobin, a robust oxygen-binding protein, contains a single heme that gives the protein a reddish color, making it an ideal subject for the teaching…

Advanced chemistry students are introduced to surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) by studying how sodium copper chlorophyllin (CuChl) adsorbs onto silver colloids (CuChl/Ag) as a function of pH. Using both SERRS and visible extinction spectroscopy, the extent of CuChl adsorption and colloidal aggregation are monitored. Initially at…