The "maker" movement is gaining widespread attention, especially in the field of laboratory education. Here we have built a low-cost, "do-it-yourself", open-source thermal conductivity cell detector (TCD) for chemical laboratory analysis, which is assembled from thermal conductivity gas sensor elements and 3D-printed flow cell…

Fluorescence microscopy is a useful tool that allows students to learn the principles of fluorescence visually in chemical and biological fields. However, fluorescence equipment has high purchase and maintenance costs and thus may not be available in educational institutions or insufficiently funded laboratories. In this study, a microscope stage…

Chemistry and biochemistry instructors must help students to develop the ability to visualize and manipulate 3D biomolecular structures and critically analyze them and their relationship to their functions. To do this, representative systems must be strategically selected to stimulate students' motivation. Since the World Health Organization…

Chemical safety is a discipline that cuts across all other chemical disciplines and also impacts other laboratory sciences. It is an essential part of chemistry and continues to evolve with the science it supports. This paper provides a short background about ACS's growing involvement with chemical safety education that stems from support from ACS…

Potash, an essential raw material of the 18th century, used to be produced from the ashes of plants. Known since antiquity, it was in 1807 that Humphry Davy put an end to the decades-long controversy about its nature as a compound. The technology behind potash production was implemented in Brazil by the Portuguese naturalist Frei Velloso. The…

Triterpenic acids (TA), a class of triterpenoids, are widely distributed as secondary metabolites in plants. They have a pentacyclic structure and show high structural diversity. In this work, a simple but efficient method for extraction and detection of TA derivatives from apple peels is described. The method is technically straightforward and…

Sustainability has a molecular basis that suggests a central role for chemistry in addressing today's challenges to Earth and societal systems, and this role requires educators to see chemical reactions and processes as integral parts of dynamic and interconnected systems. Despite this prospect, few accessible resources are available for students…

The use of open-source materials is growing in popularity throughout higher education. This Communication investigates the impact on student performance in a second-year undergraduate analytical chemistry course when an open-source textbook is assigned. For two separate semesters, approximately 80 students were enrolled in such a course across…

An ICP-MS simulation was developed to support the teaching of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The app enables students to conduct the quantification of selenium in a nutritional supplement, monitor the uptake of metallodrugs by cells, and perform qualitative analysis of gunshot residue. The experiments teach a range of analytical…

For most students, completing practice problems is an essential prerequisite for success in organic chemistry courses. Practice work, however, is sometimes perceived to be easier than or even not related to the types of chemistry that students see in assessments and "real-world" science. This negative view may contribute to a reduced…

pH buffers are used extensively in research and industry making them an important chemistry topic for students to learn. This qualitative study uses the phenomenographic method and a resource theoretical framework to provide the first insights into how students approach conceptual buffer problems. Three scaffolded buffer question sets were…

In undergraduate classrooms, a majority of chemistry discoveries introduced are by white men and a small group of white women. There is greater online representation of chemists of diverse backgrounds, but the emphasis on diversity is mainly based on a monthly theme from Black History Month to Women's History Month. The "Diversity in…

Writing is an essential component of scientific activity. As such, it is necessary to develop strategies to provide equitable training opportunities for science writing. In order to provide learners with ways to improve their writing regardless of their language background and/or institutional and departmental environments, this article describes…

Wide accessibility and a broad range of applications have made 3D-printers a commonplace tool in the science community. From tier-one research institutions to community public libraries and high schools, 3D-printers are being used to enrich STEM education through a variety of learning techniques and experiences. Reports of 3D-printed models for…

Catalysis is an essential concept in chemistry, playing a key role in industrial processes. Catalysis has been considered to be challenging not only for university students to comprehend but also for the teachers. In this Laboratory Experiment, we have described a simple activity for demonstrating the concept of catalysis using thread-based…