Osmotic pressure proves to be a useful topic for illustrating the disputes brought to bear on the chemistry profession when mathematics was introduced into its discipline. Some chemists of the late 19th century thought that the introduction of mathematics would destroy that "chemical feeling" or "experience" so necessary to the practice of…

Philosophers of biology have long argued that Darwin's theory of evolution was qualitatively different from all earlier theories of evolution. Whereas Darwin's predecessors and contemporaries explained adaptation as the transformation of a species' ''essence,'' Darwin explained adaptation as the selective propagation of randomly occurring…

The microwave-mediated preparation of lophine (2,4,5-triphenylimidazole) is described. This experiment allows for an introduction to the emerging technology of microwave-assisted organic synthesis while providing an opportunity for students to employ the principles of carbonyl chemistry in devising a mechanism to explain the formation of the…

A class centered on student design of experiments and peer review of the resulting reports is described. Thirteen students in an honors seminar section of an introductory physics class designed experiments to test various types of paranormal phenomena. Each experimental report was evaluated and ranked by several other students. To give them…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a summer science camp teaching experience on preservice elementary teachers' science teaching efficacy, science content knowledge, and understanding of the nature of science. Master's degree students enrolled in the elementary Fairfax Partnership Schools (FPS, n = 21) cohort served as the…

Seven domains upon which public policy is said to have an impact are differentiated here. A major intention of the paper is to distinguish between science and trans-science and the validity of including non-objective phenomena as an input into public policy evaluation and formation. (Author/AM)

This paper explores features that are common to both modern Western scientific thought and traditional African thought. The differences between the two are enumerated. In the Western scheme of knowledge, there is a continuous quest for explanatory theory for every phenomenon investigated. The paper notes that atoms, molecules, gods, and spirits…

Acceptance of a paradigm in the scientific community depends upon persuasion, upon the supplying of "good reasons" for supporting one paradigm over another. When one paradigm gains long-term acceptance and becomes the standard for scientific thought, scientists defer to such an authority in their thinking, and such established paradigms…

Summarizes chemical principles underlying the operation of automobiles and the cause of air pollution, including concentrations of carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, and oxides of nitrogen. Comments and opinions are made concerning present and future pollution control devices. (CC)

Summarizes current status of our knowledge about acid-base interactions, including Lewis considerations, experimental design, data about donor-acceptor systems, common misconceptions, and hard-soft acid-base model. Indicates that there is the possibility of developing unifying concepts for chemical reactions of inorganic compounds. (CC)

Discusses fundamentals of rainbow formation, including the reflection and dispersion theories underlying primary, secondary and high-order bows. Included is a series of further analytical problems. (CC)

This paper on alternatives in teacher education begins by analyzing the current emphasis on the scientific approach in education. The author finds the promise of the scientific approach to be illusory. He defines it as education that promotes behavior change in some desirable direction. However, this definition, which the author finds equally…

Although social scientists are often adjured to become more "scientific," they might well remember a phenomenon described by Arthur Lovejoy as "metaphysical pathos" or the set of sentiments with which every theory is associated and which are congruent with the mood or deep lying sentiment of its adherents. Examples from the past include the Social…

Using examples this article tries to dispel a common misconception that theories "mature" into laws by constant testing and confirmation. (GA)

Discusses the development, field testing, and validation of an instrument designed to assess secondary school students' understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge. (GA)