A reality show about a college course--a chemistry class no less? That's what "ChemLab Boot Camp" is. The 14-part series of short videos is being released one episode at a time on the online learning site of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The novel show follows a diverse group of 14 freshmen as they struggle to master the…

Describes an experiment to demonstrate Boyle's law that provides pressure measurements in a familiar unit (psi) and makes no assumptions concerning atmospheric pressure. Items needed include bathroom scales and a 60-ml syringe, castor oil, disposable 3-ml syringe and needle, modeling clay, pliers, and a wooden block. Commercial devices use a…

The growth and study of lower fungi, especially Oomycetes and Zygomycetes, in the biology classroom are described. (BB)

Two demonstrations are described which are suitable for introductory chemistry classes. The first involves the precipitation of silver, and the second is a demonstration of the relationship between rate constants and equilibrium constants using water and beakers. (BB)

Describes experiments in which students determine the ground state ionization constant (GSIC) by analyzing the absorption spectra of 2-naphthol in acidic, basic, and buffered solutions. Information on the ground and excited state ionization constants and on the kinetics of the excited state deprotonation-protonation reaction is included. (JN)

Job's method of continuous variations is a commonly used procedure for determining the composition of complexes in solution. Presents: (1) a review of the method; (2) theory of a new procedure for measuring Job's plots; and (3) an undergraduate experiment using the new method. (JN)

Background information, procedures, equipment, and results for two experiments are presented. The first involves the measurement of the mass-average and degree of coiling of polystyrene and is interpreted by the full mathematical theory of light scattering. The second is the study of transitions in gelatin. (JN)

Describes a physical chemistry experiment which allows such concepts as kinetics, catalysis, isotope shifts, coupling constants, and the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) for quantitative work to be covered in the same exercise. Background information, experimental procedures used, and typical results obtained are included. (JN)

Discusses materials needed, procedures used, and typical results obtained for experiments designed to make a numerical stepwise study of the oxygenation of hemoglobin, myoglobin, and other oxygen carriers. (JN)

Background information, procedures used, and typical results obtained are provided for an experiment in which students prepare and study the characteristics of a "slime." A list of general, inorganic, and polymer chemistry concepts fostered in the experiment is included. (JN)

Discusses materials needed, procedures used, and typical results obtained for an experiment involving a dry attack of ores with pyrosulfate flux. The experiment has been carried out by about 150 students a year with a demonstrator-to-student ratio of about 1:15 with no serious accidents. (JN)

Natural gas from regular commercial lines contains enough carbon-8 and above hydrocarbon contaminants to serve as a satisfactory sample for breakthrough experiments. Procedures used, typical results obtained, and theoretical background information are provided. (JN)

Background information, procedures used, and typical results obtained are provided for an experiment (based on the potassium bromide pressed-pellet method) involving the infrared spectroscopy of deuterated compounds. Deuteration refers to deuterium-hydrogen exchange at active hydrogen sites in the molecule. (JN)

Background information/theory, procedures used, and typical results obtained are discussed for a system in which kerosene, water, and 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) are used to demonstrate the principles of liquid-liquid extraction in a Graesser rotary contractor. The DNP is almost equal between the two disimilar solvents. (JN)

An experimental simple ion-exchange experiment in which the amount of calcium present in dietary supplement tablets has been developed is described and some typical student results for several brands of tablets are presented. (JN)