Describes the use of a microwave oven in the biology laboratory as a safe, time-saving device. Discusses media preparation, dehydration of media and specimens, and reagent testing. (CW)

Presents an experiment to demonstrate the degree to which environmental cations are taken up by susceptible lichen organisms in the field. Discusses the preparation of materials, procedures and typical results for this short laboratory exercise. (CW)

Describes a procedure for the growth of tobacco plants in flasks. Demonstrates plant tissue culture manipulation, totipotency, and plant regeneration in approximately 12 weeks. Discusses methods, materials, and expected results. (CW)

Shows the difficulties of understanding the hypothesis a posteriori. Describes a scientific method containing phenomenologic, hypothetic, and theoretic phases. Provides the results of an experiment on simple pendulum oscillation by using this method. (YP)

Administered a laboratory process skills test to 147 year-5 students to assess their investigations, performance, and reasoning in biology, chemistry, and physics. Reports significant correlation between performance and amount of homework done and students' perceptions of several aspects of the classroom environment including personalization,…

Argues that the changing informational content of biology, tightening cost constraints, improving electronic media, increasing pressures from advocates of animal rights, and the growing evidence of the effectiveness of electronic modes of instruction are undermining the traditional belief that all students in biology should have the benefit of…

Uses air temperature profiles--a topic taught in beginning meteorology courses--to illustrate the ease of restructuring the teaching/learning environment as a problem-solving mode. Students access real-time information through Accu-Weather's interactive database. Students use the data to answer the question, "What happens to air temperatures…

Presents an outdoor experiment to measure the speed of sound as a classroom experience to begin the teaching year. Measures the delay time from seeing and hearing crashing cymbals across a field to calculate the speed. Exposes students to experimental uncertainties and limits of uncertainty in measurement. (MDH)

Describes an inexpensive spectrum projector that makes high-dispersion, high-efficiency diffraction gratings using a holographic process. Discusses classroom applications such as transmission spectra, absorption spectra, reflection characteristics of materials, color mixing, florescence and phosphorescence, and break up spectral colors. (MDH)

The heat content of a food at a given temperature can be described by the thermodynamic property of enthalpy. Presents a method to construct a simple calorimeter for measuring the enthalpy changes of different foods during freezing. (MDH)

Describes a take-home experiment in which students measure the diffusion of acid through acid-filled capillary tubes immersed into base solutions and vice versa. Students represent and analyze the effects of ambient temperature, molecular weight, and concentrations of the solutions on that movement. (MDH)

Describes Socratic Dialogue Inducing (SDI) laboratory methods and procedures developed to increase conceptual understanding in introductory physics laboratories. Gives an example of a typical beginning SDI lab manual section and a representative Socratic dialogue. Describes several examples of laboratory experiments developed for the SDI method.…

Explains how Darwin's observations and experiments can be used to show the true nature of science and good scientific methods. (PR)

Describes experiments by Thomas A. Knight on geotropism. These experiments took place about 200 years ago and used a centrifuge. (PR)

Describes using the aquatic plant, duckweed, for open-ended investigations and learning about factors important in photosynthesis. (PR)