Synthesis of (Z)-alkenes is challenging because the (E) stereoisomers are usually more stable. Energy transfer photocatalysis has emerged as an efficient strategy for (E) [right arrow] (Z) alkene isomerization. We report the development of an advanced undergraduate laboratory experiment that introduces students to contemporary organic…

This research aimed to explore the effects of a virtual lab (VL) and a Microcomputer-based Lab (MBL) on students' performance in scientific modeling. A web-based virtual lab and a low-cost MBL were proposed to help first-year engineering students build scientific models. Empirical research was done in a slope motion experiment. The participants…

When new concepts, models, or theories are introduced in a course, their presentation should be accurate, even if depth is not the goal. In a recent publication in this Journal, the Woodward-Hoffmann rules were invoked in the context of a new laboratory experiment, but the associated description was inaccurate. Here we aim to clarify the…

An upper-division undergraduate laboratory experiment is described that explores the structure/function relationship of protein domains, namely leucine zippers, through a molecular graphics computer program and physical models fabricated by 3D printing. By generating solvent accessible surfaces and color-coding hydrophobic, basic, and acidic amino…

The hydrogen bonding of phenol can be used as an introductory model for biological systems because of its structural similarities to tyrosine, a para-substituted phenol that is an amino acid essential to the synthesis of proteins. Phenol is able to form hydrogen bonds readily in solution, which makes it a suitable model for biological…

We describe an extended third-year undergraduate chemistry laboratory exercise in which a number of techniques and concepts are applied to the same set of chemical reactions. The reactions are the photochemical and thermal cycloadditions of [beta]-nitrostyrene and 2,3-dimethylbutadiene. This can be viewed as a single long lab or a series of…