Discusses several accidents which occurred during secondary school science/chemistry laboratory experiments, offering suggestions for conducting safe experiments. Indicates that all experiments should be planned using the safest chemicals and safest reactions illustrating a concept, and that audiovisual aids should be used if no safe experiment is…

Described is an advanced undergraduate kinetics experiment using buffer dilutions to determine spontaneous rate, catalyzed rate, and reaction order. The reaction utilized is hydrolysis of p-nitro-phenyl acetate in presence of imidazole, which has been shown to enhance rate of the reaction. (Author/JN)

Supplies short descriptions of several computer applications in the college science classroom and laboratory, including: applications; interfacing and data collection with the TRS-80; programs for activity corrections in acid/base and precipitation titration curve calculations; computer-assisted data analysis of enzyme kinetics; and microcomputer…

Background information and experimental procedures are provided for three lecture-demonstrations (involving hydrolysis of tetra-butyl chloride) illustrating: (1) common-ion or mass law effect; (2) effect of changing ionizing power of a solvent on a solvolysis reaction; and (3) collecting/plotting data to illustrate a first-order reaction.…

Describes a sequence of experiments developed at Texas A&M University for use in one-semester and two-semester (nonmajors) organic chemistry courses to teach a maximum number of separation and purification techniques such as distillations, recrystallization, liquid-liquid extraction, and chromatography. (SK)

A fast-flow discharge reactor has been used in an analytical chemistry demonstration of gas phase titration, in inorganic preparative chemistry, and in physical chemistry as a "practice" vacuum line, kinetic reactor, and spectroscopic source as well as an undergraduate research tool. (SK)

Discusses the current theories concerning the evolution of insect-plant relationships. Offers several experiments based on recent publications in this field, concerning relationships between herbivore number and plants' successional status, geographical range, geological history, and stage of growth, and also experiments on the chemical basis of…

Outlined are recent developments in the field of organosilicon chemistry. Discussed are processes for synthesizing organosilanes, chemical bonding in silicon compounds, silicone polymers, and catenated polysilanes. (CS)

Describes a synthetic organic laboratory experiment which ensures independence of students but is not excessively demanding of instructor time. Each student is provided with different starting materials to prepare different flavones but use the same general procedure, the "organic synthesis" flavone preparation. Various features of this procedure…

This report reviews some goals for laboratory activities in contemporary science teaching, discusses an investigation that analyzed and compared laboratory activities from two major physics guides, and discusses the implications of the goals and analysis for physics teaching. Six major deficiencies in the two laboratory handbooks are identified.…

Summarizes current information on the structure and function of cilia. Three types of experiments are suggested using paramecium to investigate aspects of ciliate behavior. (Author/DC)

Describes procedures and semi-micro reaction apparatus (carbon dioxide trap) to demonstrate how a particular enzyme (L-Glutamic acid decarboxylase) may be used to determine the site or sites of labeling in its substrate (carbon-14 labeled glutamic acid). Includes calculations, solutions, and reagents used. (Author/SK)

An experimental technique to develop inferential thinking in less scientifically-oriented community college students is described. Students activate unlabeled gas discharge tubes and identify the gases by comparing color photographs with spectrometer observations. Includes methods for taking color photographs of spectra. (SK)

Advanced undergraduate experiments utilizing a commercially available, thin spontaneous fission source are described, including studies of the energy and mass distribution of the fission fragments and their energy and angular correlation. The experiments provide a useful introduction to fission, nuclear mass equations, heavy-ion physics, and…

In a first-hand description of accelerator experiments on nuclei of mass three, the ideas that led to the development of acceleration mass spectrometry are traced. (Author)