All Resources

Book Chapter

Electro-Luminescence

The title of this chapter is a compact way of saying that it covers two separate branches of chemistry. The first is electrochemistry and the second is the interaction of light with matter. An entire chapter could be spent on each of these areas, but...

Elementary High School Middle School Chemistry Physical Science

Book Chapter

Dèjà Review

This is the second chemistry book in the Stop Faking It! series—the first one is Chemistry Basics. This book introduces new concepts and expands on many of the concepts presented in the first book, hence the author felt it would be helpful to begi...

Elementary High School Middle School Chemistry Physical Science

Book Chapter

Dynamic Atoms

This chapter is about states of matter and a section of chemistry called thermodynamics which is the inspiration (or lack thereof) for the chapter title. The chapter might seem just a bit disconnected from the content in the rest of the book, but it�...

Elementary High School Middle School Chemistry Physical Science

Book Chapter

The Name's Bond ... Pi Bond

To begin this chapter, you need to picture electrons in atoms as residing in orbitals—those fuzzy things that can be spherical, dumbbell-shaped, or even ring-shaped. The author addresses orbitals and why they’re fuzzy and then deals with how the ...

Elementary High School Middle School Chemistry Physical Science

Book Chapter

Special Reactions

The basics of chemical reactions were covered in the first chemistry book, including how to write and balance chemical equations that represent those reactions. There is also a quick review of chemical reactions in Chapter 1 of this book. We’re goi...

Elementary High School Middle School Chemistry Physical Science

Book Chapter

Half a Life is Better Than None

Most of chemistry deals with chemical reactions and, hence, with how electrons in atoms behave either in single atoms or when those atoms get together with other atoms. There is a branch, though, that deals with the nuclei of atoms—and that’s wha...

Elementary High School Middle School Chemistry Physical Science

Book Chapter

A Little Organic

It would be impossible to investigate even a fraction of organic chemistry in this book, so in this chapter the author goes over a few things that will complement the limited organic chemistry in the first book. This is not a comprehensive chapter on...

Chemistry Physical Science Teaching Strategies Teacher Preparation

Journal Article

Science 101: How are skyscrapers designed?

Building a structure that stands hundreds or thousands of feet in the air incorporates all aspects of the design process. There are clear goals, constraints, and trade-offs. Here the author does his best to describe these three with respect to skyscr...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: Bringing scientific inquiry alive using real grass shrimp research

This lesson was developed for middle school students using actual research on grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) to illustrate the process of a scientific investigation. The research was conducted at Savannah State University and funded by the Nationa...

Journal Article

Editor’s Corner: Closing the Academic Achievement Gap

This issue of The Science Teacher marks our 15th annual issue devoted to the theme of “Science for All.” Ideas for reaching out to underrepresented groups are more important now than ever, as our classrooms become increasingly diverse. Despite so...

Journal Article

A Writing and Ethics Component for a Quantum Mechanics, Physical Chemistry Course

A writing-across-the-curriculum and ethics component is presented for a second-semester, physical chemistry course. The activity involves introducing ethical issues pertinent to scientists. Students are asked to read additional material, participate ...

Journal Article

Virtual Field Exercises in the Online Classroom: Practicing Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Effectiveness, Best Practices, and Implementation

A new challenge in science education at the university level is the implementation of effective field components within online courses. In nationwide online graduate geoscience courses composed of practicing teachers (N = 130), Google Earth laborator...

Journal Article

Science 2.0: Probeware—Illuminating the Invisible

Probeware is the combination of sensors and software connected to a computer or handheld device. At the heart of probeware is a digital sensor that measures a particular physical parameter. One or more sensors are plugged into an interface, a calcula...

Journal Article

First-Grade Engineers

Can students build a house that is cost effective and strong enough to survive strong winds, heavy rains, and earthquakes? First graders in Ms. Peter’s classroom worked like engineers to answer this question. They participated in a design challenge...

Journal Article

Potato Problem Solving

“Watch out, the stove will burn you,” “Ooh, ice cream headache!” Students construct their conceptions about heat and temperature through their own intuitions about daily life experiences. As a result, misconceptions can be born from these con...

Journal Article

Developing Problem-Solving Skills of Students Taking Introductory Physics via Web-Based Tutorials

Science teaching and learning can be made both engaging and student-centered using pedagogical, computer-based learning tools. The authors have developed self-paced interactive problem-solving tutorials for introductory physics. These tutorials can p...

Journal Article

Exploring Galileo’s Telescope

In the first months of 2009, the International Year of Astronomy, the authors developed an educational project for middle-level students connected with the first astronomical discoveries that Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) made 400 years ago. The proj...

Journal Article

The Prepared Practitioner: Universal Design

According to the Center of Universal Design, universal design (UD) is “the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptations or specialized design” (Burgstahler 2009)...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Toward a Deeper Understanding of Student Interest or Lack of Interest in Science

This study examined the nature of college students’ interest or lack of interest in science and the factors to which they attributed their interest or lack of interest....

Journal Article

Green Science: Investigating green—Creating surveys to answer questions

Being green means different things to different people. Some suggest that being green means saving energy, not wasting paper towels, going solar, harnessing wind, using less fertilizer, or buying products that are organically grown. Given that being ...

Journal Article

Set Sail With Science

In 2007 and 2008, three science teachers participated in research “cruises” to the Juan de Fuca Ridge off the coast of Washington. This opportunity was made possible by a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER grant awarded to Daniela Di Iorio,...

Journal Article

Scope on Safety: Battery safety basics

Batteries commonly used in flashlights and other household devices produce hydrogen gas as a product of zinc electrode corrosion. The amount of gas produced is affected by the batteries’ design and charge rate. Dangerous levels of hydrogen gas can ...

Journal Article

Make Your Own Digital Thermometer!

In the hands-on, guided-inquiry lesson presented in this article, high school students create, calibrate, and apply an affordable scientific-grade instrument (Lapp and Cyrus 2000). In just four class periods, they build a homemade integrated circuit ...

Journal Article

Community-Based Inquiry Lessons

The National Science Education Standards suggest that students work as real scientists in the classroom (NRC 1996; 2000). To accomplish this task, the authors developed community-based inquiry lessons (CBILs) that provide students with the opportunit...

Journal Article

Science From the Pond Up: Using Measurement to Introduce Inquiry

The authors engaged nonscience majors enrolled in an integrated science course with a prototype activity designed to change their mindset from cookbook to inquiry science. This article describes the activity, the Warm Little Pond, which helped studen...

Journal Article

Natural Resources: Stargazing

In 2009, we had the year of astronomy. Even President Obama hosted an astronomy night on the White House lawn. Your explorations of nature need not be limited to daylight hours—though it is important to point our when celestial objects like the Moo...

Journal Article

Trash Pie: Is Your School Serving?

In observation of Earth Day, third-grade students were invited to examine what they contribute to the landfill and learn new ways they could help protect the environment. In this lesson, students collected, evaluated, and displayed data comparing the...

Journal Article

Every Day Science Calendar: March 2010

This monthly feature contains facts and challenges for the science explorer....

Journal Article

Favorite Demonstration: Inquiry-Based Approach to Understanding Common Descent

In this inquiry-based activity, students catalog external and internal characteristics of four different classes of animals during dissection exercises. On the basis of their accumulated data, students compare and contrast the animals, devise a phylo...

Journal Article

Teaching Through Trade Books: Imaginative Inventions

Invention assists students in understanding the relationships between the individual subjects of STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). The playful nature of this month’s trade books adds that additional spark of creati...

Journal Article

Insect Keepers

Insects are fascinating creatures—especially when you and your students get up close and personal with them! To that end, the authors facilitated an inquiry-based investigation with an emphasis on identification of the different types of insects fo...

Journal Article

Libros de Ciencias en Español (2009)

Bienvenido—Welcome to our yearly list of recently published Spanish or bilingual science texts. Although most of these titles are for grades K–2, Spanish-speaking scientists-to-be of all ages will find these selections both enjoyable and informat...

Journal Article

3-D Teaching Models for All

Allowing a student to “see” through touch what other students see through a microscope can be a challenging task. Therefore, author Joan Bradley created three-dimensional (3-D) models with one student’s visual impairment in mind. They are meant...