Learning how cave formations, such as dripstone, take shape can be a valuable pedagogical tool in chemistry and geochemistry. Grasping the underlying processes requires students to synthesize knowledge of several different topical areas. The activity presented here uses an innovative experiment to connect chemistry concepts with an interesting…

Developmental changes in the understanding and use of the logic of experimental control were addressed with three tasks in a longitudinal study. In all three tasks, understanding of experimental control was assessed by production measures (children were asked to test potential causal relations in a multivariable situation) and by choice/evaluation…