A multistep synthesis of 5-isopropyl-1,3-cyclohexanedione is carried out from three commodity chemicals. The sequence involves an aldol condensation, Dieckmann-type annulation, ester hydrolysis, and decarboxylation. No purification is required until after the final step, at which point gravity column chromatography provides the desired product in…

Substrate selectivity of "Candida rugosa" lipase was tested using "p"-nitrophenyl esters of increasing chain length (C[subscript 1], C[subscript 7], C[subscript 15]) using the high-throughput screening method. A fast and easy 96-well microplate bioassay was developed to help students learn and practice biotechnological specificity screen. The…

The Web is a perfect backdrop for opinion formation as a multitude of different opinions is publicly available. However, the different opinions often remain unexploited: Learners prefer preference-consistent over preference-inconsistent information, a phenomenon called confirmation bias. Two experiments were designed to test whether technologies…

To successfully comprehend narrative text, readers often make inferences about different causes and effects that occur in a text. In this study, participants read texts in which events related to a cause were presented before an effect (i.e., the forward causal condition), texts in which an effect was presented before the events related to a cause…

The well-known experiment of the rapid expansion and cooling of the air contained in a bottle is performed with a rapidly responsive, yet very cheap thermometer. The adiabatic, low temperature limit is approached quite closely and measured with our apparatus. A straightforward theoretical model for this process is also presented and discussed.…

In this paper, we present and discuss some phenomena in an undergraduate experiment for the measurement of the speed of sound in air. A square wave distorts when connected to a piezoelectric transducer. Moreover, the amplitude of the receiving signal varies with the driving frequency. Comparing with the Gibbs phenomenon, these phenomena can be…

In searching for effective ways to combine science/chemical education with EE/ESD, new didactic materials were designed and produced focussing on biogeochemical cycles and their connection to sustainable development. The materials were experimentally applied in 16 Greek schools under the newly introduced compulsory "school project" which…

In this study, the effect of group work and traditional method on 9th grade students' misconceptions about Newton Laws was investigated. The study was conducted in three classes in an Anatolian Vocational High School in Ankara/Turkey in the second term of the 2014-2015 academic year. Two of these classes were chosen as the experimental group and…

Aim of this study is to investigate students' ideas on cooperative learning method. For that purpose students who are studying at elementary science education program are distributed into two groups through an experimental design. Factors threaten the internal validity are either eliminated or reduced to minimum value. Data analysis is done…

Thus far, it is unclear how students can learn most effectively from their own errors. In this study, reflections on the rationale behind self-made errors are assumed to enhance knowledge acquisition. In a field experiment with pre/post/follow-up design, the authors practiced fractions with 174 seventh- and eighth-grade students who were randomly…

The authors present results from a comprehensive field experiment at Swiss high schools in which they compare the effectiveness of teaching methods in economics. They randomly assigned classes into an experimental and a conventional teaching group, or a control group that received no specific instruction. Both teaching treatments improve economic…

Refutation texts have been shown to be effective at promoting knowledge revision. It has been suggested that refutation texts are most effective when the misconception and the correct information are co-activated and integrated with causal networks that support the correct information. We explored two augmentations to a refutation text that might…

This study applied an unconventional use of past examination papers by converting questions into hands-on experiments for students. Students in an experimental group were engaged in use of those experiments while the remainder attended conventional lectures with written practice. The results reflect that the experimental group positively improved…

The purpose of this research is to explore the effect of training with total quality management (TQM) on the perceptions of teachers. In this research was used experimental model. The study group of the research consisted of teachers working in the schools of Education Ministry. The questionnaire was used as a data collection tool. Finally, it was…

The current research is a descriptive study in which a survey model was used. The research involved chemistry (n = 26), physics (n = 27), and biology (n = 29) teachers working in Science High Schools and Anatolian High Schools in Turkey. An inventory that consisted of seven questions was designed to ascertain what teachers' think about the…