Describes enrollment patterns of secondary students in A-level science courses. (MKR)

Describes a procedure for ascertaining secondary students' misconceptions about concepts relating to astronomy. Summarizes results that indicate the usefulness of the approach and the range and extent of the misconceptions which could be revealed. Makes suggestions about how to use the technique in such a way that the findings will challenge the…

Describes a demonstration of the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to provide an interesting, quantitative illustration of the stoichiometric relationship between the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide and the formation of oxygen gas. This 10-minute demonstration uses ordinary hydrogen peroxide and yeast that can be purchased in a supermarket.…

Describes how to construct a simple pendulum seismometer. Includes schematic drawing of the electronic circuitry, a working drawing of the apparatus, and typical seismometer outputs caused by nearby trains and various earthquake-generated waves. (JJK)

Provides an alternative method of using water instead of a mirror to create a laser light show. (ZWH)

Describes a simple, cheap, and fast method for demonstrating the phenomenon of continuous refraction and the formation of a mirage. (ZWH)

Explores the new proving of Ceva and Menelaus's results from Archimedes's Law of the Lever. Presents the geometrical construction of the weighted centroid of the gravity of finite particles along with some properties of vector representation, and sets up a related result to spatial shape. (Author/ASK)

Paints a different picture of students' reasoning with meiosis as they solved complex, computer-generated genetics problems, some of which required them to revise their understanding of meiosis in response to anomalous data. Students were able to develop a rich understanding of meiosis and can utilize that knowledge to solve genetics problems.…

Describes two activities that use jelly beans to teach the three fundamental modes of natural selection, the theory of competitive exclusion, and how competition structures communities. (ASK)

Offers a new perspective on traditional problems in genetics on kernel color in corn, including information about genetic regulation, metabolic pathways, and evolution of genes. (Contains 15 references.) (ASK)

Suggests that the basic concepts of quantum mechanics can be introduced at the high school level by considering the action of classical mechanics, then introducing Planck's constant as the granularity of that action. Uses the periodic motion of a spring as a practical example. (AIM)

In the study of chemical applications of group theory, some students find it difficult to identify the symmetry elements in a simple geometrical figure or molecular model. Suggests that pattern blocks and mirrors can identify mirror planes in geometrical figures to help students construct, develop, and explain concepts of symmetry elements. (ASK)

Presents a laboratory sequence that allows students to use traditional comparative methods, scientific methodology, and modern molecular data bases to test hypotheses of evolutionary relationships. (Contains 13 references.) (ASK)

Many pupils will be familiar with the ideas in "2001: A Space Odyssey" but few will have considered the physics involved. Simple calculations show that some of the effects depicted in the Space Station and on the Discovery are plausible but others would be impractical. (Author/ASK)

Both indoor and outdoor garden plants can cause problems. For example, the foliage of the bird-of-paradise and philodendron plants is toxic. A poinsettia leaf can kill a young child. Outdoor plants such as castor beans are highly dangerous. All parts of the potato and tomato plant are poisonous, except the potato and tomato themselves. Large…