Open-ended, inquiry-based multiweek laboratory exercises are the key elements to increasing students' understanding and retention of the major biological concepts. Including original research into undergraduate teaching laboratories has also been shown to motivate students and improve their learning. Here, we present a series of original…

We describe an investigative laboratory module designed to give college undergraduates strong practical and theoretical experience with recombinant DNA methods within 3 weeks. After deducing restriction enzyme maps for two different plasmids, students ligate the plasmids together in the same reaction, transform "E. coli" with this mixture of…

A participatory learning approach, combined with both a traditional and a competitive assessment, was used to motivate students and promote a deep approach to learning biochemistry. Students were challenged to research, author, and explain their own multiple-choice questions (MCQs). They were also required to answer, evaluate, and discuss MCQs…

Presents five questions with answers regarding chemistry and living systems and ecology. (RH)

Questions and answers to biochemistry four topics are presented. Items include fatty acid synthesis, reaggregation of sponge cells, enzymic degradation of pollutants, and energy requirements of organisms. (RWH)

Several questions (and answers) regarding the effect of environmental variables on organisms are presented. (RH)

Presents short questions and answers on biochemical topics, such as respiration, enzymatic reactions, symbiotic relationships, and oxygen consumption of sea animals. (MLH)