Incandescent lamps are not only good sources of electromagnetic energy radiations but their operating temperatures are comparable to the temperatures of stars also. These features can be exploited to teach apparent magnitude scale both theoretically and experimentally. The numerical illustrations presented corresponding to 10, 100, 1000 and 10 000…

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) is the most classical technique favored worldwide for resolution of macromolecules in many biochemistry laboratories due to its incessant advanced developments and wide modifications. These ever-growing advancements in the basic laboratory equipments lead to emergence of many expensive, complex, and tricky…

Physics textbook authors commonly introduce the concept of weightlessness (apparent or real) through a "thought experiment" in which a person weighs herself or himself in an elevator. When the elevator falls freely, the spring balance should show zero weight. There is an unresolved controversy about how this "zero reading"…

With the introduction of the Wireless Smart Cart by PASCO scientific in April 2016, we expect a paradigm shift in undergraduate physics laboratory instruction. We have evaluated the feasibility of using the smart cart by carrying out experiments that are usually performed using traditional PASCO equipment. The simplicity, convenience, and…

Statistical inference involves drawing scientifically-based conclusions describing natural processes or observable phenomena from datasets with intrinsic random variation. We designed, implemented, and validated a new portable randomization-based statistical inference infrastructure (http://socr.umich.edu/HTML5/Resampling_Webapp) that blends…

An inexpensive self-made apparatus for photochemical experiments was developed and has been tested to facilitate the inclusion of photoreactions in undergraduate teaching laboratories despite budget constraints. The core setup allowing the selection of defined wavelengths in the visible and UV regions is made of commercially available components…

A strategy for incorporating crystallography laboratory practice into various experimental chemistry courses for undergraduates is described. The flexible approach that relates key concepts to hands-on activities allows students to draw an immediate connection between crystallography theory and their own lab experiences, leading to a deeper…

Laboratory exercises focused on protein quantification are frequently conducted in traditional undergraduate biochemistry laboratory curriculum. The laboratory course described here is designed to provide students with experience in measurement of protein content in milk powder by moving reaction boundary titration (MRBT), a new rapid technique…

This paper describes a cost effective and safe device to perform realistic experiments on the physics of radioactivity in classrooms. It can be used to study both a- and ß-radioactivity as well as ?-emitters and shows extremely realistic behaviour. The device, in the form of a Geiger--Müller tube, was tested during a public lecture and it deceived…

Recently, infrared cameras have become available as smartphone accessories. Being less expensive than regular infrared cameras they are readily affordable for schools and many teachers may even privately own one due to their potential to visualize all kinds of thermal phenomena in physics teaching. Any science teacher who wants to use such a…

Students have been taught that atmospheric temperature drops linearly with altitude, up to approximately 15 km. However, even after completing an undergraduate degree program, most students have only memorized such information and have never had the experience of measuring it. Students often assume that experimental tasks must involve the use of…

The smartphone's ambient light sensor has been used in the literature to study different physical phenomena. For instance, Malus's law, which involves the polarized light, has been verified by using simultaneously the orientation and light sensors of a smartphone. The illuminance of point light sources has been characterized also using the light…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychophysical boundary used for categorization of voiced-voiceless stop consonants in native Japanese speakers. Method: Twelve native Japanese speakers participated in the experiment. The stimuli were synthetic stop consonant-vowel stimuli varying in voice onset time (VOT) with…

There has been growing criticism over the aims, methods, and contents of practical work in school science, particularly concerning their tendency to oversimplify the scientific practice with focus on the hypothesis-testing function of experiments. In this article, we offer a reading of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's scientific writings--particularly…

Synthesis writing is a common requirement in secondary schools and colleges, but it is often done ineffectively because students fail to engage the critical processes of selecting, organizing, and connecting information, which are the crux of synthesis writing. Therefore, it is imperative to teach students synthesis writing strategies. The present…