Proteins must interact with a variety of other cellular components to properly perform their functions. We have developed a series of five experiments based on the robust bacterial single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSB) to characterize both known and unknown protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions. Students work in groups to generate and…

For many years, Atwood's machine has been used to demonstrate, illustrate, or verify Newton's laws in introductory physics courses. It consists of two objects of different mass that are fastened to the ends of a string that hangs over a pulley. In an idealized situation, one assumes that pulley friction, the string's mass, and changes in the…

To date, the efficacy of virtual experiments is not well-understood. To better understand what differences may exist between a hands-on learning environment and a virtual learning environment, three experiments were chosen for investigation. For each experiment, approximately half of the students completed a hands-on version of the experiment, and…

Toys are designed to be fun and playful and are highly motivating for both children and adults. Commercial toys and child-designed toys can be used both in the classroom and at home to encourage creativity and to teach science concepts. Much of what children can do with toys involves tinkering, defined by Merriam Webster as "to repair,…

Aim of the present study is to analyze science teacher candidates' laboratory videos by using Many-facet Rasch model. Survey method was used in the study. The study was conducted in 2017-2018 academic year spring semester. Rasch model's surfaces are respectively: 9 juries, 13 science activities and 19 criteria. FACETS program was used for data…

The main objective of this paper is to provide an explanation on a conceptual level of how the Mirascope and the occurring image formation work. The physics behind a Mirascope--a well-known device consisting of two concave mirrors--is very complex. In literature, only either high level or very simplified and deficient explanations can be found.…

Radon is a dangerous radioactive gas that is always present in the environment. It is important that students and society in general are aware of radon as a health hazard. This study describes a simple experiment to measure the variations of radon gas concentration outdoors. We compared the concentration of radon gas in the environment in dry and…

In this supplement to our second-year supercapacitor lab (Bringing Real-World Energy-Storage Research into a Second-Year Physical-Chemistry Lab Using a MnO[subscript 2]-Based Supercapacitor. "J. Chem. Educ." 2018, 95 (11), 2028-2033), we incorporate a color indicator as indirect evidence for the manganese oxide's pseudocapacitive…

A six-laboratory session biofilm-focused biochemistry laboratory module is described. Through just six four-hour laboratory sessions over three weeks, students first master background knowledge and fundamental experimental techniques to explore questions involving bacterial biofilms at the interface of microbiology and biochemistry and then…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of inquiry-based experiments on pre-service science teachers' science process skills. The study group consisted of 60 pre-service teachers in total, enrolled in the undergraduate program of Science Teacher Education, Faculty of Education at a state university. The study which used randomized…

The photoelectric effect is one of the key experiments taught during first- or second-year university and high school modern physics courses. It is usually the first experiment to introduce light quantization and the concept of photons as "packets of energy." Here, we want to point out a widespread mistake concerning the interpretation…

In this project, we worked in partnership with school teachers who are frequent users of experimental kits available for loan to schools using the historical-investigative approach. The original kits bring a traditional approach to experimentation, without the presence of the history of science. We developed and implemented new guides to the kits,…

The study of gels and their properties is a compelling topic both technologically and scientifically, and should therefore be emphasized in chemistry and material science syllabuses. In the present laboratory experiment, we propose two experiences, aimed at introducing gelation and gel transport properties using silica gels made from sodium…

Students should have a strong conceptual understanding of the connection between force and acceleration before they start working with applications and problem solving. This has been discussed in the literature. During these days of flipped classroom instruction, an at-home activity could be especially valuable. I will describe an experiment with…

Simple experiments for which differential equations cannot be solved analytically can be addressed using an effective model that satisfactorily reproduces the experimental data. In this work, the 1D kinematics of a remote-control model (toy) car was studied experimentally and its dynamical equation modelled. In the experiment, maximum power was…