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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1996  > January  >
Secondary School Chemistry
Trading Post
From the Research Laboratory to the Classroom: A Partners-in-Science Experience
Robert Zafran
South Valley School of Science and Social Studies, 385 I.O.O.F. Avenue, Gilroy, CA 95020
Cover
January 1996
Vol. 73 No. 1
p. 78
Abstract
This article describes the usage of two diametrically different, spherically shaped polymer balls known to science educators as Happy/Unhappy Balls. The unique property of the polynorbornene (Norsorex), "Unhappy" ball, its reluctance to bounce, is paired with the normally bouncing polychloroprene (neoprene) "Happy" ball to teach students observational skills necessary for the effective application of scientific reasoning processes needed for investigative analysis. The author uses the mass and "bouncing" discrepancies between these two balls to "model" isotopic properties, namely those of the 13C and 12C isotopes. This structured, student centered analysis of the Happy/Unhappy balls properties provides a physical "model" of the mass differences among isotopes and helps students to better understand the mental models normally associated with chemical isotopes. The article also describes the author's work on a prototype Stable Isotope Laser Spectrometer at NASA Ames Research Center as a Research Corporation Partners-in-Science Fellow and why he chose the usage of the Happy/Unhappy balls to link his research with his classroom.
More Information
*  Citation
 Zafran, Robert. J. Chem. Educ. 1996 73 78.
*  Keywords
*  History
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Last Updated:		 9/25/1999
5/22/2006
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