The problem addressed through this study was the absence of a critical examination of laboratory exercises used with first-year nonbiology majors and the deployment of virtual laboratories in the biology department at the project site university without critical analyses associated with the efficacy of virtual labs. Grounded in Mayer's cognitive…

This Article comes from a series of 2 h instrumental analysis laboratory experiments developed in response to social distancing requirements established because of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID). The experiments provided rich data-analysis opportunities that taught students the chemical principles that underpin instrumental techniques, yet made…

Chemometric techniques such as partial least-squares (PLS) regression have been applied with huge success to a wide array of chemical problems including multicomponent analysis of analytes in complex mixtures. Despite this, there are few examples of laboratory pedagogical exercises that involve students in the acquisition of chemical data from…

A bioinformatics laboratory experiment was designed to help undergraduate students learn RNA structure and function in biochemistry courses. In this laboratory experiment, students used 5S rRNAs as material to predict secondary structure and visualize three-dimensional (3D) structure. Students first downloaded molecular information from the 5S…

The reported project-based laboratory unit introduces upper-division undergraduate students to the basics of computer-aided drug discovery as a part of a computational chemistry laboratory course. The students learn to perform model binding of organic molecules (ligands) to the DNA minor groove with computer-aided drug discovery (CADD) tools. The…

A series of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets were developed to simulate the process of separation optimization under isocratic and simple gradient conditions. The optimization procedure is performed in a stepwise fashion using simple macros for an automatic application of this approach. The proposed optimization approach involves modeling of the peak…

Teaching the molecular aspects of drug-target interactions and selectivity is not always an easy task. In this context, the use of alternative and engaging approaches could help pharmacy and chemistry students better understand this important topic of medicinal chemistry. Herein a 4 h practical exercise that uses freely available software as a…

A series of computer-based laboratory experiments have been developed to aid undergraduate students in appreciating the three-dimensional nature of chemistry and biochemistry. Both lower- and upper-division experiments have been developed. Students are introduced to the use of ChemDraw for the production of professional-quality molecular…

The electrophilic addition of a hydrohalic acid (HX) to an alkene is often one of the first reactions learned in second-year undergraduate organic chemistry classes. During the ensuing discussion of the mechanism, it is shown that this reaction follows Markovnikov's rule, which states that the hydrogen atom will attach to the carbon with fewer…

The concept of wave-particle duality in quantum theory is difficult to grasp because it attributes particle-like properties to classical waves and wave-like properties to classical particles. There seems to be an inconsistency involved with the notion that particle-like or wave-like attributes depend on how you look at an entity. The concept comes…

In this experiment, students carry out a modern organocatalytic reaction using IMes·HCl and NaOH to catalyze the formation of 1,3,4-triphenylcyclopentene from cinnamaldehyde and chalcone in water. Deprotonation of IMes·HCl with NaOH forms the "N"-heterocyclic carbene IMes that reacts with cinnamaldehyde to form a homoenolate equivalent…

A homology modeling laboratory experiment has been developed for an introductory molecular modeling course for upper-division undergraduate chemistry students. With this experiment, students gain practical experience in homology model preparation and assessment as well as in protein visualization using the educational version of PyMOL…

A 3D model visualization and basic molecular modeling laboratory suitable for first-year undergraduates studying introductory medicinal chemistry is presented. The 2 h practical is embedded within a series of lectures on drug design, target-drug interactions, enzymes, receptors, nucleic acids, and basic pharmacokinetics. Serving as a teaching aid…

Computational chemistry is commonly addressed in the quantum mechanics course of undergraduate physical chemistry curricula. Since quantum mechanics traditionally follows the thermodynamics course, there is a lack of curricula relating computational chemistry to thermodynamics. A method integrating molecular modeling software into a semester long…

Computational chemistry undergraduate laboratory courses are now part of the chemistry curriculum at many universities. However, there remains a lack of computational chemistry exercises available to instructors. This exercise is presented for students to develop skills using computational chemistry software while supplementing their knowledge of…