Reviews some recent research on the effects of environment on plant growth. Also offers some how-to-do-it information on building low-cost, easy-to-construct greenhouses and growth chambers for school use. Bibliography. (LC)

Describes construction and use of pivots for science equipment and a pin-hole camera (made out of newspaper) for observing solar eclipses. Also describes a method for displaying spectra with a raybox and modification/use of a one-shot submarine (used in floating/sinking activities). (JN)

Suggests that ideal experiments fit into course time constraints and be meaningful, relevant to course content, safe, inexpensive, simple, reproducible, and easy to set up/maintain. Describes a Boyle's Law experiment that uses a minimum of equipment and meets the foregoing criteria. Apparatus used, procedures, and safety precautions are…

Discusses the construction of various types of physics equipment from laboratory "bits and pieces" (parts of discarded/unusable equipment). Includes comments on constructing improvised equipment from similar bits and pieces in schools in Peru and the Caribbean. (JN)

Describes an experiment enabling students to apply concept of diffraction, determine limits of their color perception, learn how to measure wavelength with a simple apparatus, observe continuous and line spectra, and associate colors with corresponding wavelengths. The homemade diffraction-grating spectrometer used is easily constructed. (JN)

Describes inexpensive method of determining harmonic content of a repetitive signal such as a sound wave and demonstrations of the precession of a bicycle wheel and inversion shadows on the retina. Also describes a resonance demonstrator (made from scrap material) driven by a portable jigsaw. (JN)

Trends in science teaching equipment include digital instrumentation and use of microcomputers as general purpose laboratory instruments. Describes interface units which exploit this capability of the microcomputer. Also describes materials supporting the teaching of electronics. (JN)

Describes an inexpensive device (around $8.00) for measuring light. The circuit used includes five resistors, three small capacitors, a cadmium sulfide light sensor, two integrated circuits, and two light-emitting diodes. The unit is constructed on a small perforated circuit board and powered by a 9-V transistor radio battery. (JN)

Topics addressed in this review of chemistry in the troposphere (layer of atmosphere extending from earth's surface to altitude of 10-16km) include: solar radiation/winds; earth/atmosphere interface; kinetic studies of atmospheric reactions; tropospheric free-radical photochemistry; instruments for nitric oxide detection; sampling…

Describes major features of a computer-operated, cybernetic potentiostat and the development, design, and operation of the software in ROM. The instrument contains control circuitry and software making it compatible with the static mercury drop electrode produced by EG&G Princeton Applied Research Corporation. Sample results using the…

Describes apparatus and method used to allow rapid and repeated measurement of acceleration of a ball rolling down an inclined plane. Acceleration measurements can be performed in an hour with the apparatus interfaced to a Commodore PET microcomputer. A copy of the BASIC program is available from the authors. (Author/JN)

Describes a demonstration to initiate discussion about electrostatic effects. Also describes and evaluates a Magnetic Bubble Apparatus, a device which exhibits several phenomena related to magnetic domain formation. Includes manufacturer's response to the evaluation. (JN)

Describes use of the Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC) physics timer for verification of equations of motion and in measuring moment of inertia when a body is in actual motion. Diagrams illustrating experimental arrangement of apparatus for the experiments are provided. (JN)