An experimental learning module has been developed to study the mass and energy balance involved with operation of an AA Alkaline battery under a load current. An extension of the module allows evaluation of laboratory-assembled batteries using granular anodic/cathodic materials. The system allows load resistance to be varied and measures voltage…

We describe our experience in guiding a physics laboratory in the eleventh grade of a high school, in which regular laboratory classes are replaced by an experimental project carried out throughout the year. Some didactic suggestions and hints are given for those wishing to adopt such an undertaking. Outlines are given for a few of the recent…

A recent article showed how the influx of neodymium magnets has provided striking demonstrations of the interactions between magnets and conductors. The "shaking torch" is yet another example. Many of these torches require no batteries and can be submerged in water--indeed, a light for life. In this article, the author disassembles a shaking torch…

A first-year laboratory experiment that utilizes concepts of electrochemical tip etching for scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is described. This experiment can be used in conjunction with any STM experiment. Students electrochemically etch gold STM tips using a time-efficient method, which can then be used in an instructional grade STM that…

The reaction kinetics of the iodide-catalyzed decomposition of [subscript 2]O[subscript 2] using the integrated-rate method is described. The method is based on the measurement of the total gas pressure using a datalogger and pressure sensor. This is a modification of a previously reported experiment based on the initial-rate approach. (Contains 2…

In this discovery laboratory, students performed electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions between 1,4-dimethoxybenzene and either 2-methyl-2-butanol or 3-methyl-2-butanol with sulfuric acid as a catalyst. The carbocation from 3-methyl-2-butanol undergoes a hydride shift, and hence, both reactions afford…

It is certainly widely appreciated that there is much to be gained in the fertile crosstalk between science and history--whether bringing a historical perspective into the science classroom (Wieder, 2006) or a scientific perspective to the study of history (McElvaine, 2002; Smail, 2008). Perhaps the major impetus for using history in teaching…

Batteries commonly used in flashlights and other household devices produce hydrogen gas as a product of zinc electrode corrosion. The amount of gas produced is affected by the batteries' design and charge rate. Dangerous levels of hydrogen gas can be released if battery types are mixed, batteries are damaged, batteries are of different ages, or…

Comparing the predicted and actual rolls of combinations of both two and three dice can help to introduce many of the basic concepts of statistical thermodynamics, including multiplicity, probability, microstates, and macrostates, and demonstrate that entropy is indeed a measure of randomness, that disordered states (those of higher entropy) are…

We describe an interactive collaborative environmental education project that makes advanced laboratory facilities at Brookhaven National Laboratory accessible for one-year or multi-year science projects for the high school level. Cyber-enabled Environmental Science (CEES) utilizes web conferencing software to bring multi-disciplinary,…

Experiments, as we all know, are especially important in science education. However, their impact on improving thinking could be even greater when applied together with the methods of inquiry-based learning (IBL). In this paper we present our observations of a high-school laboratory class where students used computers to carry out and analyse real…

Using an interactive map-based PDF, students learn key concepts related to biodiversity while developing data-analysis and critical-thinking skills. The Bird Island lesson provides students with experience in translating geospatial data into bar graphs, then interpreting these graphs to compare biodiversity across ecoregions on a fictional island.…

How useful are the standard deviations per se, and how reliable are results derived from several least-squares coefficients and their associated standard deviations? When the output parameters obtained from a least-squares analysis are mutually independent, as is often assumed, they are reliable estimators of imprecision and so are the functions…

This article describes a laboratory experience utilizing videos to engage students in hypothesis-driven experimentation in behavioral neuroscience. It provides students with an opportunity to investigate the effects of chronic methamphetamine exposure on aggression in adult mice using a resident-intruder paradigm. Instructors and students only…

Middle school students can develop and enhance their observation skills by participating in teacher-guided scientific inquiry (NRC 1996) activities where they observe animals that tend to act in known, predictable ways. Madagascar hissing cockroaches ("Gromphadorhina portentosa") are one such animal. This article presents beginning, intermediate,…