A trainerless laboratory model wherein the trainer never attends is presented. The discussion includes the advantages and disadvantages of the model, evidence for its effectiveness, and implications for the future of training. (Author)

Describes the development of a laboratory training program with unusual promise for social change in the Dominican Republic. (AN)

Discusses ways to cut rising energy costs within university laboratories by using heat recovery systems and variable volume exhaust hood systems. Explores the implementation of broad-based, sustainable laboratory classroom design concepts. (GR)

A number of laboratory exercises for the organic chemistry curriculum that emphasize enantioselective synthesis of the aldol condensation which involves the proline-catalyzed condensation between acetone and isobutyraldehyde are explored. The experiment illustrates some of the trade-offs involved in green chemistry like the use of acetone in large…

The creation of a simple, low-cost lock-in amplifier (LIA) suitable for use in the chemistry teaching laboratory is described. The use of integrated circuits and few components are necessary to adequately accomplish lock-in amplification limited the total cost of construction to under US$100.

We present a simple computer-based laboratory experiment for evaluating absolute zero in degrees Celsius, which can be performed in college and undergraduate physical sciences laboratory courses. With a computer, absolute zero apparatus can help demonstrators or students to observe the relationship between temperature and pressure and use…

A nonlinear aspect of the acousto-optic interaction that is analogous to multi-photon absorption is discussed. An experiment is described in which the second-order acousto-optically scattered intensity is measured and found to scale with the square of the acoustic intensity. This experiment using a commercially available acousto-optic modulator is…

We propose an apparatus for teaching experimental thermodynamics in undergraduate introductory courses, using thermoelectric modules and a real-time data acquisition system. The device may be made at low cost, still providing an easy approach to the investigation of liquid-solid and liquid-vapour phase transitions and of metastable states…

Developments in the laboratory-based teaching of physics and astronomy are resulting from the collaboration between conventional and distance teaching universities. The collaboration, piCETL, is one of the Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning established as a result of a broad initiative by the Higher Education Funding Council for…

The law of conservation of momentum is one that students often have difficulties understanding. This experiment allows students to use childhood toys to examine and calculate the muzzle velocity of their favourite water gun by using an air track, a spark timer or data logger and the law of conservation of momentum in a one-dimensional case, a…