Graphs are an important component in physics laboratory reports. We have noticed that our students have difficulty selecting the "scale" and the "starting value" for an axis while generating graphs on graph paper. Recommendations concerning convenient scales and starting values are found in textbooks, laboratory manuals, and…

A qualitative sugar identification laboratory was adapted from a hands-on experiment to a virtual "choose your own adventure" experience where students select virtual experiments to conduct on samples of known and unknown carbohydrates. Students select positive and negative controls for each qualitative test and compare results from the…

A problem-solving experiment is a learning activity that uses experimental design to solve an authentic problem. It combines two evidence-based teaching strategies: problem-based learning and inquiry-based learning. The use of problem-based learning and scientific inquiry as an effective pedagogical tool in the science classroom has been well…

Ultraviolet (UV)-visible (Vis) spectroscopy is widely used in all modern laboratories as a routine method of analysis. The monitoring of chemical reactions in an aqueous solution involving a gas product is a demanding task but particularly for oscillatory reactions which are obtainable in a narrow concentration range. In this work, the…

Herein we propose the implementation of an "escape room" activity to reinforce chemistry-related concepts for students of the Bachelor of Arts and Fashion. In this work, a combined online and offline activity is developed, easily adaptable to different environments. The online activity consists of 5 blocks of multiple-quiz questions…

A class of 18 students attending the last year of an Italian high school was divided into groups and performed the extraction of pigments contained in hibiscus tea. Each group worked at a different temperature and carried out multiple extractions using distilled water as a solvent. By means of UV-vis spectroscopy it was possible to determine the…

Transforming the chemistry curriculum to an interdisciplinary perspective is essential for preparing students to meet interdisciplinary career demands and to brace themselves for the challenges of complex environmental and health issues. The study introduces four interdisciplinary electrochemistry STEM-lab activities as an alternative to the…

Analysis of collisions is standardly included in the introductory physics course. In one dimension (1D), there do not seem to be any unusual issues: Typically, the initial velocities of the two colliding objects are specified, and the problem is to find the final velocities. In 1D there are therefore two unknown variables. One can write the…

An online virtual escape-room game was created using the Google Forms survey app for an undergraduate chemistry lab class. Zoom video conferencing service was used to make the activity a collaborative learning experience. The theme was an escape from an abandoned chocolate factory, and the students solved problems to move to the next section or…

Scientists understand that no result is more important than the welfare of the investigators and the people around them. Safety culture is an integral part of industrial and academic jobs; however, safety training has only recently been added to chemistry classroom and laboratories. Chemistry laboratories expose workers to a variety of hazards,…

We reported a redesign of a physical chemistry laboratory course (CHEM 166) for our chemistry majors at the University of Vermont carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic. We started to teach this course after a curriculum reform, which split an upper-division undergraduate laboratory course into physical and analytical chemistry laboratories. To…

Herein we present a modified iodine clock experiment which replaces starch with cellulose paper. This provides the reaction with a white solid surface in which color change can be clearly observed and reduces reagent amounts required to 540 µL per group. After data acquisition, students are required to calculate reaction orders and the reaction…

This paper describes an inquiry-based integrated laboratory project for green synthesis, characterization, and applications of silver and gold nanoparticles. In this project, students were able to choose their choice of plant extract as reducing and stabilizing agents, and the students also designed their own experiments. This course gave the…

This work presents experiments to teach fundamentals of automation through a sequence of laboratory practices that naturally guide to development of an on/off control system. It focuses on the integration of technological and scientific concepts, based on an educational approach associated with a problem-solving technique.

A detailed characteristic of teaching and learning approaches used within the new concept of Learning by Being (LBB) is given. The evolution of educational paradigms from Learning by Doing (LBD) and Learning by Understanding (LBU) toward LBB is analyzed. The basic idea of LBB is students' ownership on cognitive goals, or the assumption of learning…