Practical work is a distinctive feature of school science and has close associations with scientific experiment and scientific methods as well. In this study, the nature of practical work was examined in the view of the diversity of scientific methods. Based on an analytical framework derived from Brandon's matrix consisting of four categories of…

The experiments described in this paper have two goals. The first goal is to show how students can perform simple but fundamental measurements of objects moving through simple liquids (such as water, oil, or honey). In doing so, students can verify Stokes' law, which governs the motion of spheres through simple liquids, and see how it fails at…

Presents an exercise to measure the modulus of elasticity of spider silk using a microforce transducer that can be built from materials readily available in the laboratory. (JRH)

Presents and analyzes an example from the literature on genetics studies in order to highlight the difficulties in classifying biological materials and the personal equation that finds its way into the measurement. (JRH)

Presents a laboratory demonstration that helps students understand the concept of microscope calibration. (JRH)

Biology teachers at Ithaca College have developed a course in experimental methodology and instrumentation that teaches beginning biology students the need for accuracy and precision in measurement. This course is described. (JN)

A single heartbeat is a complicated process. In Dutch upper secondary biology textbooks this process is illustrated by the classical Wiggers diagram, which usually shows different heart-related quantities, like voltage (ECG), blood pressure, and the heart sounds. It may help students to understand the nature of the Wiggers diagram if they perform…

Describes a take-home experiment in which students measure the diffusion of acid through acid-filled capillary tubes immersed into base solutions and vice versa. Students represent and analyze the effects of ambient temperature, molecular weight, and concentrations of the solutions on that movement. (MDH)