This paper describes the author's experience of designing and teaching an interdisciplinary course titled "Light", in collaboration with a visual artist. The goals of the course, texts used, laboratory work, art studio work, and other course activities are discussed with an emphasis on how light was used as a theme to make connections between…

This paper describes an easy experiment to study the absorption and action spectrum of photosynthesis, as well as the inhibition by heat, high light intensity and the presence of the herbicide 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) on the photosynthetic process. The method involves measuring the chlorophyll fluorescence emitted by intact…

This paper describes some simple and rapid techniques for examining the growth responses of fungal hyphae cultivated on environmental gradients. The creation of such gradients using agar-based growth media in petri dishes is explained, along with recommendations for quantitative macroscopic and microscopic measurements. The intention is to provide…

A 14-week, undergraduate-level Genetics and Population Biology course at Morgan State University was modified to include a demonstration of functional genomics in the research laboratory. Students performed a rudimentary sequence analysis of the "Caenorhabditis elegans" genome and further characterized three sequences that were predicted to encode…

The purpose of this study was to investigate (a) what effect the use of interactive computer-based simulations (ICBSs), the use of laboratory inquiry-based experiments (LIBEs), and the use of combinations of an ICBS and a LIBE, in a conceptually oriented physics course, have on science teachers' beliefs about and attitudes toward the use of these…

This paper describes the Scientific Tools and Techniques course for ninth grade students in the Dekalb County, Georgia, public high schools. The course is offered at the Fernbank Science Center, a magnet school owned by the Dekalb County Schools and Fernbank Incorporated and operated by the school system. Investigations are described in the…

Student-designed laboratory exercises have become an important part of the physics classes at Piedmont Virginia Community College. Rather than filling in the blanks of a laboratory workbook, students are required to design and carry out weekly experiments which relate to the physics concepts being studied. Using computers, standard laboratory…

This paper describes the events following the news of Oersted's discovery of the effects of a current of electricity on a magnetic needle. It focuses on Biot and Savart's law which expresses the force between a current element and a "molecule of magnetism" that can be deduced from Ampere's law of interaction between two current elements.…

A time-sharing FORTRAN program is described. It was created to allow a student to design and perform classical thermodynamic experiments on three models of a working substance. One goal was to develop a simulation which gave the student maximum freedom and responsibility in the design of the experiment and provided only the primary experimental…

Presents an analytical or inorganic chemistry laboratory experiment in preparing nickel macrocyclic complex. (SL)

Presents investigations to explore the substrate specificity, pH, concentration, and temperature relations of an enzyme with only inexpensive commercial rennet and basic laboratory equipment. Describes how the activities were carried out with a group of 15-year-old students. (CW)

Describes a laboratory experiment to determine the rate law for a substitution reaction of a transition metal. Derives the corresponding rate law from the accepted mechanism for the reaction using the steady state approximation and determines the conditions under which the two agree. (CW)

Illustrates the scope of experimental investigations for biochemistry education in high school biology and chemistry courses. Gives a brief overview of biochemistry experiments with proteins, enzymes, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, vitamins, metabolism, electron transport, and photosynthesis including materials, procedures, and outcomes.…

Differentiates the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle (or Krebs cycle) from glycolysis, and describes the bridge between the two as being the conversion of pyruvate into acetyl coenzyme A. Discusses the eight steps in the TCA cycle, the results of isotopic labeling experiments, and the net effects of the TCA cycle. (TW)

Describes a method of flow injection analysis intended for calculation of complex-formation and redox reaction stoichiometries based on a closed-loop configuration. The technique is suitable for use in undergraduate laboratories. Information is provided for equipment, materials, procedures, and sample results. (JM)