The EU as a context for science lessons may be given scant attention but EU decision-making is a vital factor in everyday life. Lessons on the emergence of soil science with Charles Darwin's simple scientific experiments can be linked with competence through action, inclusion and argumentations in science lessons. Decisions about an EU Soil…

Conducting labs isn't a new way to teach physics, but labs have become increasingly prevalent with the rise of inquiry. Physics students collect mostly quantitative data, often represented by graphs or tables. Interpreting this data can be a challenge for students, especially when it comes to experimental error. To address this issue, this article…

Color is a complex and rich perceptual phenomenon that relates physical properties of light to certain perceptual qualia associated with vision. Hering's opponent color theory, widely regarded as capturing the most fundamental aspects of color phenomenology, suggests that certain unique hues are mutually exclusive as components of a single color.…

In many chemical reactions, reactive radicals have been shown to be transient intermediates. The free radical character of a chemical species is often, but not always, indicated by adding a superscript dot to the chemical formula. A consistent use of this radical symbol on all species that have radical character is suggested. Free radicals have a…

An experiment that compares product distribution obtained by either substitution or elimination utilizing alkyl bromides and methoxide, ethoxide, or t-butoxide as the base (or nucleophile) is described. The change in product distribution caused by steric effects of the base and substrate are readily apparent. Prior work on this experiment focused…

A challenging topic in undergraduate physiology courses is the complex interaction between the vertebrate endocrine system and the immune system. There are relatively few established and accessible laboratory exercises available to instructors to help their students gain a working understanding of these interactions. The present laboratory module…

In this work an attempt is made to explore the possible value of using Thought Experiments (TEs) in teaching physics to upper secondary education students. Specifically, a qualitative research project is designed to investigate the extent to which the Thought Experiment (TE) called "Heisenberg's Microscope", as it has been transformed by…

The Young-Feynman two-hole interferometer is widely used to present electron wave-particle duality and, in particular, the buildup of interference fringes with single electrons. The teaching approach consists of two steps: (i) electrons come through only one hole but diffraction effects are disregarded and (ii) electrons come through both holes…

The International Young Physicists' Tournament (IYPT) is a worldwide, annual competition for high school students. This paper is adapted from the winning solution to Problem 14, Magnetic Spring, as presented in the final round of the 23rd IYPT in Vienna, Austria. Two magnets were arranged on top of each other on a common axis. One was fixed, while…

Electrokinetic remediation is a method of decontaminating soil containing heavy metals and polar organic contaminants by passing a direct current through the soil. An undergraduate chemistry laboratory is described to demonstrate electrokinetic remediation of soil contaminated with copper. A 30 cm electrokinetic cell with an applied voltage of 30…

We report on an experiment performed with a home-made flat-plate solar collector, carried out together with high-school students. To explain the experimental results, we propose a model that describes the heating process of the solar collector. The model accounts quantitatively for the experimental data. We suggest that solar-energy topics should…

Teaching the acoustic properties of materials is a good way to teach physics concepts, extending them into the technological arena related to materials science. This article describes an innovative approach for teaching sound and acoustics in combination with sound insulating materials in secondary school (15-16-year-old students). Concerning the…

A general chemistry laboratory experiment is described that introduces students to instrumental analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), while simultaneously reinforcing the concepts of mass percent and the calculation of atomic mass. Working in small groups, students use the GC to separate and quantify the percent composition…

An experiment for the undergraduate organic laboratory is described in which peptide mimetic oligomers called "peptoids" are built stepwise on a solid-phase resin. Students employ two modern strategies to facilitate rapid multistep syntheses: solid-phase techniques to obviate the need for intermediate purifications and microwave irradiation to…

The problem of a ladder leaning against a wall in static equilibrium is a classic example encountered in introductory mechanics texts. Most discussions of this problem assume that the static frictional force between the ladder and wall can be ignored. A few authors consider the case where the static friction coefficients between ladder/wall…