Describes an experiment in which nitric acid is synthesized from ammonia on a small scale to illustrate a major industrial process. (MLH)

Describes the creation of a community-service option for biology nonmajors as part of the course requirements. The student had to relate the project to some aspect of biology. The goal was to teach students that learning science is an everyday occurrence, and that they can make a difference in their community. Program instructions and student…

Estimates private and social rates of return for university science and technology graduates in Trinidad and Tobago. Makes comparisons with other fields of study such as agriculture, natural sciences, engineering, and humanities. Concludes that rates of return are inconsistent with the allocative preferences of policymakers. (Authors/PKP)

Described is an activity designed to allow students' thinking about taxonomy to evolve in the same fashion as the thinking of taxonomists. Presented are the problem to be investigated, procedures, and questions for discussion. (CW)

Described is an activity in which students examine data collected from an official report of a train accident to evaluate the conclusions of the official investigation. Quotations from the records and calculations used in this activity are included. (CW)

Discussed is the importance of using scale drawings in teaching physics. Concepts including the orbit of the Space Shuttle, the smoothness of the earth's surface, the oblateness of the earth, the eccentricity of the earth's orbit, and the solar system are illustrated. (CW)

Presented are problems that teachers can use to stimulate students' thinking about the subject of mathematical scaling. Food and eating examples are used to illustrate this concept. (CW)

Described is research conducted on cluster-assembled matter. The differing character of these arrangements of matter are discussed. Methods used to produce clusters are reviewed. (CW)

Contained in this issue are 30 articles reviewing advances in different fields of analytical chemistry since 1980. Cumulatively, these reviews list over 1000 references. (CW)

The annual census of industrial employment, production workers, women, the workweek, scientists and engineers, chemical employment, wages, and productivity in the chemical industry is presented. Trends in the numbers of workers, productivity, and unit labor costs are illustrated in graphs. (CW)

A personal account of the events leading up to the realization that this was a bona fide species is presented. The application of the scientific method in the process of this research is emphasized. (CW)

Suggestions for the use of two different conventions in difference and rate terms in thermodynamics are made. It is shown how this approach lends itself to an accurate and concise discussion of function changes for a chemical reaction. (CW)

Provided is a rebuttal to an argument concerning the use of Ka values for water and the hydronium ion. The derivation of new values as a result of the treatment of the water as the solvent and using a Raoult's Law standard state is discussed. (CW)

Described are the design, construction, and uses of two pieces of laboratory equipment. Included are a multipurpose meter, "Calo-pH Meter," and a device for collecting water samples for determining dissolved oxygen content. (CW)

The teaching of physics as an integral part of an undergraduate oceanography course is described. A general outline of oceanography and the corresponding physics topics is given. The objectives, organization, and difficulties of such a course are discussed. (CW)