Often science teachers perform demonstrations only to discover that students have already seen the experiment in a previous course. Teachers should take advantage of these opportunities to showcase the interconnectedness of different science disciplines. One example of a demonstration used across most science disciplines and grade levels involves…

This brief article presents some quick and easy science experiments for those dreary winter days when classrooms need a pick-me-up. These seemingly easy science experiments will make a lasting impact on students.

Sediment oxygen demand (SOD) is the rate that dissolved oxygen leaves the water column in a body of water due to the build-up and decomposition of organic carbons in the sediment. The introduction of organic materials changes the chemistry of streams, and many chemical reactions occurring in bodies of water, with the exception of photosynthesis,…

An experiment in photochemical oxidation, which deals with bilirubin, a well-known light-sensitive biological compound that is pedagogically ideal for photochemical experiments at tertiary institutes, is presented. The experiment would benefit students in chemistry who eventually branch out into the health sciences or biochemistry.

The use of Calculator-Based Laboratory (CBL) technology, the graphing calculator, and the cooling and heating of water to model the behavior of consecutive first-order reactions is presented, where B is the reactant, I is the intermediate, and P is the product for an in-class demonstration. The activity demonstrates the spontaneous and consecutive…

The study describes how to design and optimize an experiment with multiple factors and multiple responses. The experiment uses fractional factorial analysis as a screening experiment only to identify important instrumental factors and does not use response surface methodology to find the optimal set of conditions.

A device designed to emulate diffusion and thermal conductivity using flowing water is reviewed. Water flowing through a series of cells connected by a small tube in each partition in this plastic model is capable of emulating diffusion and thermal conductivity that occurs in variety of systems described by several mathematical equations.

The purpose of the paper is twofold: (1) To contrast the longstanding tradition of private and public courses of chemistry with the public demonstrations of physics. Whether taught in public institutions such as the Jardin du Roi or by apothecaries in their officines chemistry demonstrations were not for the entertainment of their audiences.…

In this article, the authors describe steps on how to develop a high-impact activity in which students build, test, and improve their own "coffee can" speakers to observe firsthand how loudspeakers work to convert electrical energy to sound. The activity is appropriate for students in grades three to six and lends itself best to students…

Many general physics laboratories involve the use of springs to demonstrate Hooke's law, and much ado is made about how this can be used as a model for describing the elastic characteristics of materials at the molecular or atomic level. In recent years, the proliferation of computers, and appropriate sensors, have made it possible to demonstrate…

The principles of magnetism are a common topic in most introductory physics courses, yet curricular materials exploring the behavior of permanent magnets and magnetic materials are surprisingly rare in the literature. We reviewed the literature to see how magnetism is typically covered in introductory textbooks and curricula. We found that while…

Protein kinase Cs (PKCs) are implicated in many forms of synaptic plasticity. However, the specific isoform(s) of PKC that underlie(s) these events are often not known. We have used "Aplysia" as a model system in order to investigate the isoform specificity of PKC actions due to the presence of fewer isoforms and a large number of documented…

We have developed two kinds of optical experiments: color mixture and fluorescence, using mini-torches with light emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit three primary colors. Since the tools used in the experiments are simple and inexpensive, students can easily retry and develop the experiments by themselves. As well as giving an introduction to basic…

Teaching science by means of inquiry-based projects has the potential to transform the science lab into a place of debate and discovery, but teachers run the risk of either leaving students to work too independently or forcing them to be too dependent on our guidance. To counter these challenges, the author implemented changes in the way topics…

This paper reports the modification of an existing experimental subject into a project laboratory for first-year physics students studying in the first cycle of university level and at a higher professional level. The subject is aimed at developing important science-related competences and skills through concrete steps under circumstances that are…