This paper describes theory and experiments, taken from biophysics and physiological measurements, to illustrate the technique of signal averaging. In the process, students are introduced to the basic concepts of signal processing, such as digital filtering, Fourier transformation, baseline correction, pink and Gaussian noise, and the cross- and…

We performed experiments in which a soccer ball was launched from a machine while two high-speed cameras recorded portions of the trajectory. Using the trajectory data and published drag coefficients, we extracted lift coefficients for a soccer ball. We determined lift coefficients for a wide range of spin parameters, including several spin…

Two methods of data analysis are compared: spreadsheet software and a statistics software suite. Their use is compared analysing data collected in three selected experiments taken from an introductory physics laboratory, which include a linear dependence, a nonlinear dependence and a histogram. The merits of each method are compared. (Contains 7…

We conducted a series of experiments to investigate the extent to which prompting the construction of a force diagram affects student solutions to simple mechanics problems. A total of 891 university introductory physics students were given typical force and motion problems under one of the two conditions: when a force diagram was or was not…

Enzyme purification projects are an excellent way to introduce many aspects of protein biochemistry, but can be difficult to carry out under the constraints of a typical undergraduate laboratory course. We have designed a short laboratory project for the purification and identification of an "unknown" lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isozyme that can…

Recent advances involving high-throughput techniques for data generation and analysis have made familiarity with basic bioinformatics concepts and programs a necessity in the biological sciences. Undergraduate students increasingly need training in methods related to finding and retrieving information stored in vast databases. The rapid rise of…

The "BIO2010" report recommended that students in the life sciences receive a more rigorous education in mathematics and physical sciences. The University of Delaware approached this problem by (1) developing a bio-calculus section of a standard calculus course, (2) embedding quantitative activities into existing biology courses, and (3)…

Biology of the twenty-first century is an increasingly quantitative science. Undergraduate biology education therefore needs to provide opportunities for students to develop fluency in the tools and language of quantitative disciplines. Quantitative literacy (QL) is important for future scientists as well as for citizens, who need to interpret…

Reasoning skills are major contributors to academic and everyday life success. Epistemological commitments (ECs) are believed to underlie reasoning processes and, when considered, could do much in delineating the complex nature of scientific reasoning. This study examined the relationship between ECs and scientific reasoning among college science…

This paper is concerned with improvements in some exact formulae for the period of the simple pendulum problem. Two recently presented formulae are re-examined and refined rationally, yielding more accurate approximate periods. Based on the improved expressions here, a particular new formula is proposed for the period. It is shown that the derived…

In this paper we address a common misconception concerning the thermal behaviour of matter, namely that the front surface of a very thin plate, uniformly illuminated by a constant light beam, reaches a higher temperature than the front surface of a very thick slab made out of the same material. We present analytical solutions for the temperature…

The pumping mechanism of a swing in a playground is due to the exchange of angular momentum from the rocking movement of the swinger to the swing oscillation around the point from which the swing is suspended. We describe the rocking events as square pulses of short duration. This choice, together with a simplified mechanical model for the…

In this paper we consider the relativistic polarization of a moving magnetic dipole and show that this effect can be understood via the relativistic generalization of Kirchhoff's first law to a moving closed circuit with a steady current. This approach allows us to better understand the law of relativistic transformation of four-current density…

We present the analysis of oral interviews with 112 undergraduate nonmajor students during the first week of a General Education Introduction to Astronomy class before they had received any instruction. The students were asked questions relating to Kepler's three Laws of Motion, as well as their understanding of what keeps planets in orbit around…

Metstoich, a metabolic calculator developed for teaching, can provide a novel way to teach quantitative metabolism to biochemical engineering students. It can also introduce biochemistry/life science students to the quantitative aspects of life science subjects they have studied. Metstoich links traditional biochemistry-based metabolic approaches…