In the field of construction, most structures are supported by several groups of truss systems working together synergistically. A "truss" is a group of centered and balanced elements combined to carry a common load (Warner, 2003). Trusses provide strength against loads and forces within a structure. Though a complex field of study, structural…

The molecule of December 2005 comes from the paper by Rose, Palcic and Evans on structural factors determining the blood type. The structure was previously reported by Palcic and Evans and is presented without the water molecule that is determined in the crystal structure.

Learn how to use biotechnology to investigate a serious agricultural problem. The exercise presented here provides an inexpensive way to introduce students to ELISA techniques in an economically and agriculturally important context.

Over the past three years, the authors' team at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) has been researching a professional development program in science, "Foundations of Science Literacy" ("FSL"), for preschool lead and assistant Head Start teachers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Year 1 was a pilot year, so it is the…

The purposes of this study were to examine initial content knowledge about properties of air by three cohorts of undergraduate and master's students studying elementary education and to determine forms of reasoning used to explain air phenomena and the effect of an intervention on content knowledge. Subjects were assessed using a 14-question test…

This US study investigates interactive associations between structure in inquiry-type learning activities and academic attainment in high school science with introductory college science performance as the outcome. Past studies of this type have tended to use smaller samples and shorter-range methods of assessing the influence of interactions.…

Maria lifts up a book from the table. Dietre eats cereal for breakfast. Akisha winds up a toy robot. Jacob puts batteries in a flashlight. These seemingly dissimilar events demonstrate various ways children experience energy daily. The authors have used these lessons successfully for several years and have been continually impressed with the…

One of the most fun demonstrations in a freshman mechanics class is the levitation of a ball in a steady air stream even when the jet is directed at an angle. This and other demonstrations are often used to argue for the validity of Bernoulli's principle. As cautioned by some authors, however, it is important to avoid making sweeping statements…

The authors' purpose is to help students clarify the difference between scientific laws and scientific theories. Understanding the nature of science is important to our students; however, persistent misconceptions, such as misunderstandings about scientific laws and theories, are still present. In this two-part activity, students will have a…

Students are often confused by the difference between the terms "accuracy" and "precision." In the following activities, students explore the definitions of accuracy and precision while learning about salt march ecology and the methods used by scientists to assess salt marsh health. The activities also address the concept that the ocean supports a…

For more than 200 years, the beautiful "molybdenum blue solutions" have been a puzzle for chemists because they could not determine the molecular structures of the solutes while experiments showing the Tyndall effect proved the presence of "giant species". This problem was finally solved in Bielefeld. As a result of this discovery, novel inorganic…

The exocharmic reactions that can be observed microscopically are discussed. The students can discover the optimal concentration of an acidic lead nitrate solution, so that a crystal of potassium iodide, nudged to the edge of a drop, results in glinting golden hexagons of lead iodide.

The purpose of this study was to create a conceptual awareness in science education for accurate observation of what is happening around us. To correctly understand the conceptual framework of the curriculum currently being implemented and to make us aware of our need to know how to put this framework into practice will serve as a guide for…

This study explored 3- and 4-year-old children's development of scientific vocabulary from participation in repeated interactive read-aloud events and retellings of three informational picture books about light and color, followed by hands-on science activities. Thirty-two children attending a YWCA preschool were matched by age and general…

To address the confusion resulting from difficulties with proportional reasoning among preservice physical science students, a cube-assembly activity was used to bring a sense of concreteness to abstract ideas. The activity took students from the concrete step of assembling cubes of various sizes and directly measuring their properties to slightly…