To familiarize first-year students with the important ingredients of a physics experiment, we offer them a project close to their daily life: measuring the effect of air resistance on a bicycle. Experiments are done with a bicycle freewheeling on a downhill slope. The data are compared with equations of motions corresponding to different models…

In this activity, science education and modern technology are bridged to teach students at the high school and undergraduate levels about protein folding and to strengthen their model building skills. Students are guided from a textbook picture of a protein as a rigid crystal structure to a more realistic view: proteins are highly dynamic…

The transport of potassium permanganate between two continuous-stirred vessels was investigated to help chemical and biomedical engineering students understand two-compartment pharmacokinetic models. Concepts of modeling, mass balance, parameter estimation and Laplace transform were applied to the two-unit process. A good agreement was achieved…

Although a number of past studies have been aimed at characterizing iron's redox properties in aqueous systems and its contribution to natural attenuation processes of groundwater contaminants, many questions remain. It is especially important to understand the molecular properties that control the reactivity of both Fe[superscript II] and…

The use of augmented reality (AR) tools, where virtual objects such as tables and graphs can be displayed and be interacted with in real scenes created from imaging devices, in mainstream school curriculum is uncommon, as they are potentially costly and sometimes bulky. Thus, such learning tools are mainly applied in tertiary institutions, such as…

We present an analysis of the new French curriculum on chemical changes describing the underlying models and highlighting their relations to the empirical level. The authors of the curriculum introduced a distinction between the chemical change of a chemical system and the chemical reactions that account for it. We specify the different roles of…

Describes the construction of a moving model for demonstrating kinetic theory and explains how it can be used to represent all three states of matter. (GS)

The interplay between a nucleus and an electron pair is explained through a basic application of an electrostatic and balanced model to determine the correlated and repulsive movements of the electron pair. The stable correlation depends on the positive charge produced by the combined force, which in turn establishes a negative potential energy.

Discussed is the idea that models should be taught by emphasizing limitations rather than focusing on their generality. Two examples of gas behavior models are included--the kinetic and static models. (KR)

A fixed amount of an ideal gas is confined in an adiabatic cylinder and piston device. The relation between temperature and volume in initial/final phases can be derived from the first law of thermodynamics. However, the relation can also be derived based on kinetic models. Several of these models are discussed. (JN)

Compares several derivations of the Clausius-Mossotti relation to analyze consistently the nature of approximations used and their range of applicability. Also presents a statistical-mechanical calculation of the local field for classical system of harmonic oscillators interacting via the Coulomb potential. (Author/SK)

Discusses scattering problems in continuous media, and presents a simple discrete model for scalar wave scattering from inhomogeneities on a lattice. Illustrates the relationships between the amplitude of the scattered wave and the characteristic function of the fluctuating motion of a point reflector in one dimension. (Author/GA)

Describes a method, considered appropriate for presentation to undergraduate students in materials science and related courses, for the calculation of cohesive energies of the alkali metals. Uses a description based on the free electron model and gives results to within 0.1 eV of the experimental values. (Author/GS)

The Briggs-Haldane assumption is used as the basis for the development of a kinetic model for enzyme catalysis. An alternative definition of the steady state and examples of realistic mechanisms are provided. (KR)