Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Measurement In Chemistry, Mathematics, And Physics Education: Student Explanations Of Organic Chemistry Reaction Mechanisms And Instructional Practices In Introductory Courses, Brandon J. Yik

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The work in this dissertation is presented in two parts. The first part (Chapters 3 and 4) details work relating to students’ explanations of reaction mechanisms in organic chemistry. The second part (Chapters 5 and 6) details work relating to the evaluating the uptake of research-based instructional practices in introductory chemistry, mathematics, and physics courses.

To evaluate learning of organic chemistry reactions, instructors must ask students to construct written explanations of reaction mechanisms. Written assessments should focus on what is happening and why it is happening to promote deeper student understanding. However, for instructors to gain insight into students’ understanding, …

Using Fine-Scale Aquatic Habitat Data To Construct Dreissenid Sdms In The Laurentian Great Lakes, Grace C. Henderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The invasion of the Laurentian Great Lakes by aquatic invasive species (AIS) has been the subject of investigation for decades, due to their dramatic alterations to the ecosystem and high economic costs. Two AIS with the largest impacts are dreissenid zebra and quagga mussels, and though these species have been studied extensively, questions remain about what factors control their distributions, and whether lake warming will alter these distributions. Species distribution models (SDMs) offer a powerful tool to examine the relationship between species presences and environmental variables, which are typically bioclimactic data. The creation of the Aquatic Habitat (AqHab) dataset containing …

Impact Of Model Choice In Predicting Urban Forest Storm Damage When Data Is Uncertain, Casey Lambert, Shawn Landry, Michael G. Andreu, Andrew Koeser, Gregory Starr, Christina Staudhammer

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Research that illuminates causes of urban forest storm damage is valuable for planning and management. However, logistical and safety concerns often delay post-storm surveys in urban areas; thus, surveys may include observations with unverified sources of damage. While this uncertainty is often ignored, it can make up a high proportion of the number of damaged trees. The goal of this research was to improve understanding of techniques for modeling storm damage in urban forests. Using urban forest storm damage inventories collected in Florida, post-Hurricane Irma (2017), we tested how different imputation methods, modeling procedures, and damage frequency levels could impact …