Describes two new exercises in classical conditioning that use earthworms and houseflies. The animals are available year-round and pose no risk to the students or instructor. The conditioned stimuli are odorants. These elicit a conditioned response of contraction in worms or proboscis extension in flies. (MJP)

Forensic science courses encompasses the disciplines of biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics, which provides an opportunity for students to become engaged in all content areas within one course. The inquiry-based learning environment allows visualization of results almost immediately, facilitating student interest. The laboratory…

Although ammeters are very important tools for science classes in elementary and junior high schools, many ordinary ones are not easy to handle nor sufficiently educational. From this viewpoint, the authors have investigated the possibility of using clamp-on ammeters, which are very common among professional electricians, for educational purposes.…

The chemical and instrumental methods used in the study of transition-metal complexes provide a complete determination of their structure, bonding, and properties. It unites concepts of analytical, inorganic, and physical chemistry in a way that students might appreciate that these areas of chemistry are not different.

Understanding the scientific method fosters the development of critical thinking and logical analysis of information. Additionally, proposing and testing a hypothesis is applicable not only to science, but also to ordinary facts of daily life. Knowing the way science is done and how its results are published is useful for all citizens and…

What and how much can children learn without subject teachers? In an attempt to find a limit to self organized learning, we explored the capacity of 10-14 year old Tamil-speaking children in a remote Indian village to learn basic molecular biology, initially on their own with a Hole-in-the-Wall public computer facility, and later with the help of…

Provides procedures and comments for 15 short chemical experiments suitable for classroom demonstrations or public displays about chemistry. (MLH)

Paper describes the Reston, Virginia, interactive television demonstration. It details how the system is put together, what the results have been to date, and what the plans are for the future. (Author)

This paper describes a multifaceted agitation and mixing experiment. The relatively inexpensive apparatus includes a variable-speed stirrer motor, two polycarbonate tanks, and an instrumented torque table. Students measure torque as a function of stirrer speed, and use conductive tracer data to estimate two parameters of a flow model. The effect…

A set of general principles underlying theory formation, theory revision, and experimentation are described. The manner in which these techniques may be integrated to provide a unified and comprehensive treatment of scientific theory development is demonstrated. In particular, the means by which experimentation is used to empirically guide and…

This experiment uses a radioactive technique to determine the relative leaving abilities of chloride and iodide in nucleophilic substitution reactions. (DT)

Two experiments are described which illustrate preparative as well as mechanistic features of the reactions of halogens with alkanes and alkenes. (DT)

By concentrating radioactivity contained on luminous dials, a teacher can make a high reading source for classroom experiments on radiation. The preparation of the source and its uses are described. (DT)

A description of Paddock School, a school for the severely mentally handicapped, and its special audiovisual program for instruction. (HB)