A modification of the Ames test for detecting carcinogens and mutagens using a strain of bacteria is described. A suggestion is given for checking the correctness of procedures by using particular hair dyes which have been shown to be mutogenic. (Author/SA)

Using hypothetical lawsuits as examples, the more common rules of law which define the acceptable conduct of a physics teacher in the classroom, laboratory, and general school area are examined. (BT)

Describes a high school chemistry class that regularly studies a local river to incorporate hands-on environmental studies into chemistry topics. This integration has proven to be a successful technique to make science come alive for students, arouse students' curiosity, and convince students that chemistry is indeed everywhere. (DKM)

Access to professional development opportunities for in-service high school chemistry teachers remains a problem. In an effort to increase teacher access, a new cross-listed course called Chemistry 869/Curriculum and Instruction 869 was created at the University of Nebraska and offered via the Internet. Describes this course in microscale…

Describes scientific collaboratories as environments where researchers can perform their research without regard to physical location, interacting with colleagues, accessing instrumentation, sharing data and computational resources, and accessing information in digital libraries. Focuses on an evaluation study that compared undergraduates working…

Describes a course developed for undergraduate students that includes an environmental science lecture and laboratory section. Focuses on the laboratory section as the critical component with activities that are real-world related, hands-on, problem solving-based, and use cooperative learning approaches. (Contains 12 references.) (Author/YDS)

Urges the use of plastinated specimens as an alternative to traditional dissection in biology classrooms. Suggests that plastinated biological specimens heighten student interest and enhance teaching. Interview responses of students, teachers, and administrators to the use of plastinated specimens in selected high schools were found to be very…

Discusses appropriate methodologies for investigating how learning occurs in the laboratory. Presents two techniques, concept mapping and V-diagramming, which can be effective research tools in probing students' understanding of chemical principles. These techniques can also be effective instructional tools that help students integrate lecture…

Introduces an alternative method to determine the mechanics of a moving object that uses computer vision algorithms with a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera as a recording device. Presents two experiments, pendulum motion and terminal velocity, to compare results of the alternative and conventional methods. (YDS)

Describes an undergraduate physical science laboratory course exercising the utilization of satellite imagery for studying the floods that resulted in the Parana River region in South America during El Nino (1997-1998), and examines vegetation cover and spectral profiles from the study area in order to further understand and assess the changes…

Describes a technique for using lecture-laboratory facilities and faculty office facilities to provide students a site for intensive laboratory exercises. Provides a layout of the lecture-laboratory facilities and energy systems of the facilities. Presents an instructional example on the concept of the natural frequency of single-degree-of-freedom…

Describes a computer program designed to enable undergraduate students to apply computer skills for data acquisition and processing in experimental chemistry. An example is given that examines the absorption spectra of conjugated molecules such as carbocyanine dyes, and the free electron model is explained. (six references) (LRW)

Argues that the science lab can be an environment highly conducive to intellectual development. Discusses students' task commitment and motivation, and teacher enthusiasm, expectations, genuineness, and exemplary behavior in light of research findings and the author's personal experience. (RS)

Discusses a high school physics course for a vocational program. Describes the development, organization, characteristics, and pilot test results for "Principles of Technology." (YP)

Defines a few major reasons for the frequent failure of laboratory instructional methods and outlines some modes of thinking that seem to promise greater effectiveness and firmer justification for maintaining the laboratory as an essential component of physics teaching. (MVL)