Explores the issue of the consistency of use of students' conceptions across different tasks which probed understandings of aspects of pressure, heat, and biological evolution. Findings indicate that children have alternative frameworks for all investigated areas. (ML)

Examination results from 1146 Jamaican high school students in single-sex and coeducational schools indicated students from coeducational schools had lower performance on all measures. A subsample provided more information on sex differences, performance in individual subjects, and students receiving grades of A or B. (DH)

Provides annotated listing of books in 16 areas: (1) amateur astromony; (2) children's books; (3) comets; (4) cosmology; (5) education in astronomy; (6) general astronomy; (7) history of astronomy; (8) life in the universe; (9) miscellaneous; (10) physics and astronomy; (11) pseudo-science; (12) space exploration; (13) stars and stellar evolution;…

The inadequacy of secondary and undergraduate student preparation for dental school science instruction requires that dental schools provide remedial instruction and study skill-building opportunities for their students and be more specific about the kinds of preprofessional training required of applicants. (MSE)

Summarizes advice from the Laboratory Safeguards Subcommittee of the Association for Science Education related to flames and heat, hazardous chemicals, electricity and dangerous voltages, and mechanical hazards. Knowledge is cited as the key to preventing accidents in physics laboratories. (DH)

Presents 23 experiments, demonstrations, activities, and computer programs in biology, chemistry, and physics. Topics include lead in petrol, production of organic chemicals, reduction of water, enthalpy, X-ray diffraction model, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, computer simulation for additive mixing of colors, Archimedes Principle, and…

As part of Hungary's Curriculum Theory Department (CTD-80) assessment, 1,543 14-year-olds were tested in the performance of science experiments in physics and chemistry. Skills included observing, measuring, hypothesizing, and drawing conclusions. Results are presented, and implications for curriculum are suggested. (GDC)

Variability in the grammatical profile of finite verbs in English is examined in 20 Master of Science theses in biology, chemistry, and physics. The use of verbs with respect to voice, tense, aspect, and modality is examined in five rhetorical sections of the theses--introduction, review, methods, results, discussion. (SED)

Compares and contrasts high school physics philosophies, curricula, and textbooks of early 1900s to present, indicating that current textbooks are teacher and subject-oriented, lack examples of daily life, and are highly mathematical and too abstract. Suggestions for helping students experience success and improve self-esteem (which leads to…

Reports results of a 1983 national survey which determined the time devoted to teaching major physics content areas; subtopics in each area; equipment students saw and used; principle textbook used; and school/physics enrollments. Indicates that the data obtained can be used to establish guidelines in developing the Physics Achievement Test. (JN)

Describes an apparatus (called the "Rainbow Cup") used for demonstrating the colored rings produced by constructive interference in soap films. Discusses construction of the Rainbow Cup and gives hints for its use in the classroom, especially in relation to classroom humidity. (JM)

Provides innovative ideas in biology, chemistry, and physics on the following topics: enzyme decomposition; chemical waste; time measurement; acid-base color magic; ball bouncing properties; heat; cell theory; and specimen boxes. Materials and procedures are listed when appropriate along with hints for expanding these ideas and investigations. (JM)

Describes how to use data from television broadcasts of shuttle launches along with data from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) "Educational Briefs for the Classroom" to establish relevant connections of high school physics with the real world. Includes graphs of range/altitude, speed/time, and three tables with launch…

Provides a simplified, synoptic overview of the area of thermodynamics, enumerating and explaining the four basic laws, and introducing the mathematics involved in a stepwise fashion. Discusses such basic tools of thermodynamics as enthalpy, entropy, Helmholtz free energy, and Gibbs free energy, and their uses in problem solving. (JM)

Provides (in table format) lists of chemistry prerequisites in biology textbooks, physics prerequisites in chemistry textbooks, chemistry prerequisites in physics textbooks, and mathematical requirements of physics and chemistry. Indicates that mathematical requirements for chemistry and physics are similar and that substantial chemistry and…