Favorite Experiments in Physics and Physical Science

A new collection of experiments and demonstrations to bring fresh vigor and real science learning into your classroom. Included are complete descriptions of eleven separate student experiments to accompany Novare texts and over 50 demonstrations in physics and introductory chemistry.

Frustrated with a “magic show” mentality in your lab experiments? Everyone agrees that experiments are necessary. But if they are going to be worth the time, they must be carefully designed to educate students in principles of lab procedures, measurement, observation, recording and analysis.

Favorite Experiments accomplishes this by starting each experiment with clear learning objectives followed by a explanation of the experiment and why we are doing it. The materials list includes source information (such as Flinn Scientific or the local hardware store) with part or model numbers where applicable.

Wherever possible, Novare strives to keep costs down. Ordinary household items can often serve just fine in an experiment (remember, the great pioneer scientists always designed their own experiments). But a student must also learn to use and understand real laboratory equipment; we don’t want them arriving at their college labs having never handled a beaker or worn safety equipment. Novare experiments strive to create a real science lab environment at a minimum of cost.

Chapters go on to a list of pre-lab discussion questions and talking points, notes for student preparation, and student instructions for conducting the experiment. Instructions include useful guidelines such as avoiding pitfalls, taking accurate measurements, and incorporating everyone in the group to help with some aspect of the experiment. Where safety concerns exist, this book gives clear instructions and prescribes standard lab safety procedures and equipment.

Then after the experiment, students need to experience real-world science by thinking about clean-up and disposal procedures (you can’t just pour chemical waste down the sink) and analysis of data.

Novare Science & Math believes strongly that students from 9th grade on should write a formal lab report after an experiment. The Student Lab Report Handbook is the perfect student guide to preparing premier lab reports on a computer.

Favorite Experiments contains all the information needed for the experiments in Novare textbooks Accelerated Studies in Physics and Chemistry, Introductory Physics, and Physics: Modeling Nature. Also included are more than 50 demonstrations that can be performed by an instructor. The basic student instructions are included in each textbook, or can be photocopied and distributed. Student Instructions are also available for FREE DOWNLOAD in PDF format from this website. The password is on p. 5 of the book.