Chapters in this book include: (1) Courseware Adaptation to Learning Styles and Knowledge Level (Boyan Bontchev and Dessislava Vassileva); (2) Assisted On-Job Training (Claudio Teixeira and Joaquim Sousa Pinto); (3) Self-Directed Learning Readiness Factors in Physicians for Implementing E-Learning in the Continuing Medical Education Programs…

Despite its great importance, many students and even their teachers still cannot recognize the relevance of models to build up physical knowledge and are unable to develop qualitative explanations for mathematical expressions that exist within physics. Thus, it is not a surprise that analogies play an important role in science education, since…

Because interest in catalysts is widespread, the kinetics of catalytic reactions have been investigated by widely diverse groups of individuals, including chemists, engineers, and biologists. This has lead to redundancy in theories, particularly with regard to the topics of homogeneous, heterogeneous, and enzyme catalysis. From a pedagogical…

The international literature suggests students frequently resort to the use of formulae when solving stoichiometry problems without understanding the concepts. In prior work we identified Thai student alternative conceptions and ability to solve numerical problem for stoichiometry. The results indicate that many Thai students also hold alternative…

A general and rigorous method to deal with singularities at the origin of a polar coordinate system is presented. Its power derives from a clear distinction between the radial distance and the radial coordinate variable, which makes that all delta functions and their derivatives are automatically generated, and ensures that the Gauss theorem is…

In this work, we present a simple analysis of binary diffraction gratings with different slit widths relative to the grating period. The analysis is based on a simple phasor technique directly derived from the Huygens principle. By introducing a slit phasor and a grating phasor, the intensity of the diffracted orders and the grating's resolving…

We present a simulation tool to aid the study of basic pharmacology principles. By taking advantage of the properties of agent-based modeling, the tool facilitates taking a mechanistic approach to learning basic concepts, in contrast to the traditional empirical methods. Pharmacodynamics is a particular aspect of pharmacology that can benefit from…

Presents calculations after discussing exponential growth that deal with the determination of the time of exhaustion at different rates of consumption. (PR)

Content knowledge and pedagogical practices are of particular concern to middle school science instructors teaching density. First introduced in elementary grades with the ideas of floating and sinking, density taught in middle school is geared toward understanding through the use of mathematical formulas. Using a lesson-plan study design, the…

Maxwell's equation are solved for an inhomogeneous medium which has a coordinate-dependent dielectric function. The problem and its solutions are given in a format which should make it useful as an intermediate or advanced level problem in an electrodynamics course. (Author/SK)

Addresses the principles and problems associated with the use of significant figures. Explains uncertainty, the meaning of significant figures, the Simple Rule, the Three Rule, and the 1-5 Rule. Also provides examples of the Rules. (ML)

Describes a technique whereby qualitatively correct models of differentially rotating degenerate stars may be constructed by simple methods available to undergraduate students. (Author/JN)

The Poincare group, the group of transformations of the plane which preserve the Minkowski distance between points, is derived as compositions of suitably defined reflections in straight lines. It is shown that any such transformations must be one of four types. (Author/JN)

The general problem of mass accretion by a drop falling through a cloud of droplets is considered as an exercise in introductory or intermediate mechanics. The kinematic behavior of the falling drop is deduced for a variety of mechanisms of mass accretion, and some special limiting conditions are discussed. (Author/SK)

Derives the current in the wire joining two points when n points are joined two by two by wires of equal resistance, and two of them are connected to the electrodes of a battery of electromotive force E and resistance R. (YP)