Presents activities to teach the concept of projectile motion to high school students using a spring-loaded dart gun, carbon paper, meterstick, ruler, white paper, tape, and a student's desk. (JRH)

Investigation of (n=31) physics students' analysis of videodisc-recorded images with treatments over an extended time found no significant learning difference between using simultaneous-time and delayed-time analysis for student understanding of kinematics graphs. (Author/MKR)

Describes methods to redevelop lab activities for use in schools with limited resources for proper facilities and equipment. Discusses take-home labs, paper-and-pencil labs, and lab station activities. (JRH)

Describes a sensitive, simple, and inexpensive microrespirator that may be used readily by students. Discusses materials and methods for construction and classroom applications. (LZ)

Provides a method, using the Rowland ring as a specimen, to observe the phase transition process directly on the oscilloscope and even extract the critical exponent of ferromagnetic transition. Includes theory, experimental setup, and results. (MVL)

Discusses the history and current developments of the Biosphere 2 Project, a prototype for enclosed self-sustaining structures for space colonization built in the Arizona Desert. Biosphere 2 was created to educate and provide solutions to environmental problems and revenue from research. (MCO)

Author provides details about Helmont's experiment that was a milestone in the history of plant biology since it marked the start of experimental plant physiology. Concludes that Jean Baptista van Helmont's supposedly simple experiment becomes complex when trying to determine the methods he used, evaluate his sources of experimental error, and…

Describes how microscale labs can be used as a tool to transform teaching instead of simply a less expensive substitute to traditional labs. Presents an activity that introduces students to density and the advantages of multiple measurements and averaging. (ZWH)

The ninth installment of the Science in a Box series (self-contained, hands-on activities for students grades three and up) presents activities for learning to use the sense of touch to determine how different objects conduct heat. All projects in the series are inexpensive and easy to assemble. (SM)

Describes the use of the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI) which was designed for assessing senior science students' perceptions of aspects of their laboratory learning environment. Describes ways in which SLEI has been used in research studies and outlines ways educators could use the instrument for evaluating aspects of their own…

The loss of carbon dioxide from carbonated beverages provides an interesting case of the combination of equilibrium and kinetic principles. Adding air with a commercial device (the Fizz Keeper) has a negligible effect on various equilibria present but will slow diffusion in the gas space of a resealed bottle, decreasing the rate at which…

Discusses the need for long-term field experiments in undergraduate ecology curricula, and describes a field experiment in long-term succession set up to address this need. Reports on findings from the first year of the project. Contains 25 references. (WRM)

Identifies the development of practical and investigative skills featured in science qualifications at all levels (foundation, intermediate, and advanced) and all types (general, general vocational, and occupationally specific). Reviews the debate over the purpose of practical experimental work in science education and training. (Author/CCM)

Philosophers' attempts to convincingly explicate the received view of an ad hoc hypothesis--that it accounts for only the observations it was designed to account for--have been unsuccessful. Familiar and firmer criteria for evaluating the hypotheses or modified theories so classified are characteristically available. Contains 41 references.…