This article describes the use of Fermi questions as a problem-solving tool.

This article engages students in a simulation of the Coat Check problem, in which four women check their coats only to have them returned at random. Students examine the experimental and theoretical probability of at least one woman getting her own coat back.

Principal components analysis (PCA) is used to explore the structure of data sets containing linearly related numeric variables. Alternatively, nonlinear PCA can handle possibly nonlinearly related numeric as well as nonnumeric variables. For linear PCA, the stability of its solution can be established under the assumption of multivariate…

This paper provides surface area and volume formulas for surfaces of revolution in R[superscript n]. In addition the authors illustrate how to obtain the formulas for volume and surface areas of revolution about the x- or y-axis in two different ways: a "heuristic" argument and a rigorous calculation using "cylindrical" coordinates. In the last…

We have developed a simple, resilient experiment that illustrates the Nernst equation and Beer-Lambert law for our second-semester general chemistry students. In the experiment, the students monitor the reduction of ferricyanide ion, [Fe(CN)[subscript 6]][superscript 3-], to ferrocyanide, [Fe(CN)[subscript 6]][superscript 4-], both…

A report is presented to describe how students can be empowered to construct the full, double minimum inversion potential for ammonia by performing intrinsic reaction coordinate calculations. This work can be associated with the third year physical chemistry lecture laboratory or an upper level course in computational chemistry.

Game theory approaches to find optimal marketing decisions are considered. Antagonistic games with and without complete information, and non-antagonistic games techniques are applied to paired comparison, ranking, or rating data for a firm and its competitors in the market. Mix strategy, equilibrium in bi-matrix games, bargaining models with…

Molecular orbital plots are used to analyze and interpret NMR spin-spin coupling constants, also known as J coupling constants. Students have accepted the concept of contributions to molecular properties from individual orbitals without the requirement to provide explicit equations.

Many students graduate from high school unprepared for the rigorous reading required in entry-level college and career work. This brief builds on a recent report (Wilkins et al. 2010) that used the Lexile measure (a method for measuring the reading difficulty of prose text and the reading capability of individuals) to estimate the proportion of…

In recent years, students and parents have seen tuition costs at colleges and universities rise, to the extent that many low-income families may feel a college education for their child is out of their financial reach. However, this sky-high tuition is often partially, or even largely, subsidized by various forms of financial aid. For families to…

According to industry representatives, computer science education needs to emphasize the processes involved in solving computing problems rather than their solutions. Most of the current assessment tools used by universities and computer science departments analyze student answers to problems rather than investigating the processes involved in…

Apprentice and trainee data are reported by the State and Territory Training Authorities to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) on a quarterly basis, starting at the September quarter of 1994. The set of data submitted that quarter is referred to as Collection 1. The sets of data submitted in subsequent quarters are…

Two commercial self-heating food products have been used to apply chemical concepts such as stoichiometry, enthalpies of reactions and solutions, and heat transfer in a classroom activity. These products are the self-heating beverages sold in Europe and the Meals, Ready to Eat or MREs used primarily by the military in the United States. The main…

This study introduces an approach for modeling multidimensional response data with construct-relevant group and domain factors. The item level parameter estimation process is extended to incorporate the refined effects of test dimension and group factors. Differences in item performances over groups are evaluated, distinguishing two levels of…

This paper investigates the determinants of student attendance of economics classes. Course-specific and individual-specific factors are shown to have significant impacts on class attendance. It was found that female students and overseas students skip classes less often. Surprisingly, students involved in extra-curricular activities attend…