Here we present a multidisciplinary educational unit intended for general, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate-level high school science, focused on the three-dimensional structure of proteins and their connection to function and disease. The lessons are designed within the framework of the Next Generation Science Standards to make…

This study investigates whether Virtual Manipulatives (VM) within a Physical Manipulatives (PM)-oriented curriculum affect conceptual understanding of electric circuits and related experimentation processes. A pre-post comparison study randomly assigned 194 undergraduates in an introductory physics course to one of five conditions: three…

A student's first introduction to engineering and technology is typically through high school science labs. Unfortunately, in many high schools, science labs often make use of antiquated tools that fail to deliver exciting lab content. As a result, many students are turned off by science, fail to excel on standardized science exams, and do not…

Research into intervention strategies for developmental verbal dyspraxia (DVD) clearly demonstrates the need to identify effective interventions. The goals of this study were to examine changes in articulation skills following the use of phonetic, multimodal intervention and to consider the relationship between these improved articulation skills…

If you have seen tubes like the ones we describe here in the back of a cupboard but have been reluctant to use them, now is the time to get them out. The aim of this article is to record the history of teaching about electron beams, particularly with Teltron equipment, and in doing so encourage those schools that are equipped with these tubes to…

Examination of histologic and histopathologic microscopic sections relies upon differential colors provided by staining techniques, such as hematoxylin and eosin, to delineate normal tissue components and to identify pathologic alterations in these components. Given the prevalence of color deficiency (commonly called "color blindness")…

This laboratory experiment was developed to provide a safe, economical, and effective way to instruct undergraduate organic chemistry students about the unimolecular nucleophilic substitution (S[subscript N]1) reaction. Students treat 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-hexanediol with excess concentrated hydrochloric acid to synthesize…

A handheld digital microscope (HDM) interfaced to a computer with a presentation projector is used to project an out-of-focus yellow patch on the screen, then the patch is brought into focus to show that, paradoxically, there are red and green but no yellow pixels. Chromaticity diagrams are used to discuss this observation and spectroscopic…

The authors engage students in inquiry-based learning by presenting laboratory exercises as mini-journal articles that mirror the format of a scientific journal article, including a title, authors, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, and citations. Students develop and carry out their follow-up investigation, then…

It has been suggested that Einstein's principle of equivalence (PE) should be introduced at an early stage. This principle leads to the notion of local effective gravity, which in turn defines effective vertical and horizontal directions. Local effective gravity need not coincide with the direction of terrestrial gravity. This paper describes…

Following Kant, it is clear "that," but probably not completely "how" we are morally obligated. I will point out that there are three possible ways to struggle for an understanding of how we can be obligated as rational beings and also as "ordinary human beings." There is (a) the argument from rational feeling ("Achtung"), (b) the argument from…

An approach using Google Groups as method for distributing student-acquired NMR data has been implemented. We describe how to configure NMR spectrometer software so that data is uploaded to a laboratory section specific Google Group, thereby removing bottlenecks associated with printing and processing at the spectrometer workstation. Outside of…

The effect of hands-on laboratory activities on secondary student learning was examined. Assessment was conducted over a two-year period, with 262 students participating the first year and 264 students the second year. Students took a prequiz, performed a laboratory activity (gas chromatography of alcohols, or photosynthesis and respiration), and…

An inquiry-based laboratory exercise is described in which introductory chemistry students measure the density of water five times using either a beaker, a graduated cylinder, or a volumetric pipet. Students are also assigned to use one of two analytical balances, one of which is purposefully miscalibrated by 5%. Each group collects data using…

The purpose of this laboratory experiment is to introduce aspects of materials chemistry, such as polymers and nanoparticle synthesis and properties, to students by their fabrication of a take-home polydimethylsiloxane window cling containing gold or silver nanoparticles. This lab covers small portions of three successive laboratory periods and is…