Virtual worlds are a potential medium for teaching college-level chemistry laboratory courses. To determine the feasibility of conducting chemistry experiments in such an environment, undergraduate students performed two experiments in the immersive virtual world of Second Life (SL) as part of their regular General Chemistry 2 laboratory course.…

With the increasing importance in the application of the molecular biological detection technology in the field of food safety, strengthening education in molecular biology experimental techniques is more necessary for the culture of the students in food quality and safety major. However, molecular biology experiments are not always in curricula…

The science laboratory learning environment has been a distinctive area in science education since the 19th century. Unfortunately, students are generally not aware of what science instructors expect from laboratory experiences, and far too often, the undergraduate science laboratory curriculum lacks explicit, well-defined goals. Science…

In 2012, engineering was adopted as a content area in K-12 science education. Yet few science teachers have engineering content or pedagogical content knowledge. Teachers learn how to teach engineering through professional development experiences, for which Darling-Hammond et al. (2017) outline seven characteristics of effectiveness. This…

While the use of experiments is important for developing students' scientific knowledge and skills, challenges may arise when teachers and students are conducting experiments in class, such as non-reusable experimental resources, safety issues and difficulties simulating some specific effects. Augmented reality (AR) technology affords an…

This study aimed to develop, introduce, and conduct an inquiry-driven creative drama activity. The activity, for elementary students, related to the transmission of light and full shadow. In the activity, which consisted of a warm-up, dramatization, and evaluation stages, two inquiry-based experiments were added to the dramatization stage. Thus,…

Single slit diffraction is part of many high-school physics curricula throughout the world. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether high-school physics teachers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and North Macedonia are adequately prepared to discuss with their students about various aspects of the single slit diffraction pattern,…

The introduction of the computer into the educational process is a fact. The educational use of new technologies creates a new, more appealing and enjoyable learning environment. The introduction of new technologies into school differentiates the role of the professor by giving him/her a guiding character in a process of experiential approach to…

This paper describes an inquiry-based integrated laboratory project for green synthesis, characterization, and applications of silver and gold nanoparticles. In this project, students were able to choose their choice of plant extract as reducing and stabilizing agents, and the students also designed their own experiments. This course gave the…

Virtual manipulatives running on tablets have been demonstrated to improve students' conceptual understanding in previous studies. However, the differential effects on group interaction during face-to-face collaborative inquiry learning from the support of alternative technology affordances has received little attention. Technology affordances in…

This paper describes an experimental investigation of the skin depth effect for electromagnetic waves in salt water using a cell phone that is immersed to a critical depth where it no longer responds when called. We show that this critical depth is directly proportional to the theoretical skin depth for a range of salt concentrations.

After many years of confusion, thermal performance of sleeping bags has now been quantified and unified using expensive test techniques. Based on Newton's law of cooling, we present a simple inexpensive test and model to check manufacturers' claims on the temperature performance of a range of modern sleeping bags.

Understanding Physics is a great end in itself, but is also crucial to keep pace with developments in modern technology. Wireless power transfer, known to many only as a means to charge electric toothbrushes, will soon be commonplace in charging phones, electric cars and implanted medical devices. This article outlines how to produce and use a…

Understanding how to perform an enzyme assay is a critical learning skill in the undergraduate biochemistry curriculum. Students in biochemistry typically have been exposed to the use of NMR spectroscopy as a tool to determine chemical structure, but rarely are they exposed to the utility of NMR to evaluate enzyme kinetics. Furthermore, coverage…

An attempt to calibrate a conventional oven led to making a measurement of a thermophysical property of water using items found in the author's home. Specifically, the ratio of the energy required to heat water from the melting point to boiling to the energy required to completely boil away the water is found to be 5.7. This may be compared to the…