Describes a course designed to provide secondary school science teachers with the background necessary to implement an effective safety program for their science labs. Lectures, demonstrations, group discussions, slides, films, videotapes, and guest speakers were utilized in the two-credit hour, summer course. Evaluations indicated course…

Many textbooks print schemes for students to use in memorizing the electron filling order of subshells. An alternative method demonstrating subshell filling order using the periodic chart is provided. (Author/JN)

Discusses instructional strategies related to the traditional classroom electroscope demonstration. These include developing ideas focusing on the nature of observation; placing discovery in its historical context; examining the nature of science; and considering the relationship between scientific knowledge and the practical application of that…

Describes an activity for grade 7-9 students previously introduced to topographic maps and profile lines. Two profiles of equal scale are used to help students appreciate the tremendous size of mid-ocean rift valleys. Procedures and examples of completed profiles are provided. (JN)

Presents an activity to articulate comparison of the hand and foot. Students carefully cut out corresponding hand/foot parts (carpals, tarsals, metacarpals, metatarsals, and phalanges) from enlarged diagrams and paste them on paper for comparative analysis. Sample student inferences and diagrams used for the activity are provided. (JN)

Discusses a high school physics course in which physics is developed from something students have seen or experienced rather than starting with physics and applying it to a topic. Instructions for obtaining a sample unit and course outline are provided. (Author/JN)

Suggests that energy education, as part of science education, start with processes taking place by themselves, emphasizing that reversing such processes requires a fuel-consuming device. Also suggests that thermodynamics be given greater prominence in courses after studying energy conservation. Includes science education philosophy behind the…

Describes demonstrations in which individuals participate in activities to illustrate physics concepts. No equipment other than the individuals participating is required. Demonstrations are provided for the topics of gas laws, thermodynamics, wave phenomena, optics, acoustics, kinematics, and dynamics. (JN)

During 1981-82 a physics contest was held in North Carolina in which a new physics question was asked each month. Information is provided for others contemplating a similar task. Areas addressed include costs, prizes (calculators), number of entries, contest rules, contest goals, and such problems as time involvement. (JN)

Discusses the "sudden explosion" of animal fossils during the Cambrian era, suggesting that the "explosion" is a result of organic evolution, leading to remarkably preservable calcareous skeletons. Suggests that earlier organisms were soft-bodied and consequently were poorly preserved in the fossil record. (JN)

Several investigations can be undertaken with live sea anemones. A sea anemone's feeding response, fighting power, color, and symbiotic relationships to other invertebrates (such as a marine hermit crab) can be investigated in the high school classroom. Background information and laboratory procedures are provided. (Author/JN)

Provides instructions for producing a spectrum in the secondary science classroom. Offers suggestions for using the spectrum and discusses how to make a rainbow using a garden hose or houseplant sprayer. (JN)

Describes a modified version of an experiment found in the laboratory manual "Chemistry" by Masterton, Slowinski, and Wolford (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980). Accurate results (normally less than four percent error) in less time were achieved when magnesium turnings were used instead of magnesium ribbon called for in the original experiment.…

To combine writing with science, the writing of cinquain poetry was incorporated into a unit on water. Instructions for writing the poetry and examples are provided. The cinquain exercise can be used for a wide variety of earth science excercises and is suitable for other science areas. (Author/JN)

Since the keeping of good records is essential in the chemistry laboratory, general guidelines for maintaining a laboratory notebook are provided. Includes rationale for having entries documented or witnessed. (Author/JN)