By hosting a college students' laboratory skills contest, we provide an interesting activity for students to cultivate good laboratory practices and thereby improve their laboratory skills. The substance of this contest is the detection of the hardness of water, which involves numerous laboratory skills such as solution preparation, weight by…

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…

Here, we propose a laboratory exercise to quickly determine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in human "alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (ADH1B)" and "aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2)" genes involved in alcohol metabolism. In this exercise, two different genotyping methods based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR), namely…

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected teaching processes worldwide, particularly in laboratory-intensive courses. To adapt, online experiments have been implemented globally. In response, educators at the Department of Chemistry, Chulalongkorn University, developed a Lab@Home chemistry experiment for their general chemistry lab course…

Heterocyclic compounds are an integral part of research, particularly in the pharmaceutical field. The synthesis of such compounds in an undergraduate laboratory can help students understand the relevance and importance of their field of study. Our experimental activity introduces a novel procedure to synthesize coumarin, a heterocyclic formed by…

The design and operation of an inverted cone, scalable vapor condenser, drawing cooling air from beyond the boundary layer and optionally working as a part of a gastight setup, are described and discussed. Besides its main use as a reflux condenser, it can also be used in one-plate distillations.

Electrophoresis is integral to analytical and biochemistry experiences in undergraduate education; however, fundamental principles of the method are often taught in upper-level laboratories through hands-on experiences. A laboratory activity is reported that teaches the concepts of electrophoretic mobility and electroosmotic flow. A single…

In this laboratory experiment, students explore the aquatic photochemical fate of ranitidine and cimetidine, two common pharmaceutical pollutants found in wastewater. It provides an engaging environmental context for students to develop knowledge of reaction kinetics and photochemistry as well as skill in using analytical instrumentation. This…

A symmetry activity using student-built models was developed in line with faculty-developed pedagogical goals and a collaborative learning framework. The activity took place in a 3-h laboratory portion of an upper-division inorganic chemistry course. It required students to identify symmetry elements for seven molecules using common 2D…

Here, we present a laboratory activity in which the students work on an analysis of a questioned document that was written with one out of five possible pens. As a forensics study, the activity applied chemistry and analytical chemistry tools to solve the case. The students were able to apply polarity and solubility concepts to select and discard…

An approach to online laboratory exercises for analytical chemistry students with demonstrated practical exercises through the use of remote-controlled gas chromatography (GC) instrumentation is discussed. The approach allows for a practical-based learning activity to be carried out by students who are unable to attend in-person laboratory…

An escape-room-game activity was introduced to foster team building and collaborative learning in a laboratory-experiment setting. The students were placed in a laboratory with clues and puzzles that required the students to use a sequence of analytical instruments in the laboratory in order to escape. The instruments utilized included a UV-vis…

A multioutcome, discovery-based column (CC) and thin layer chromatography (TLC) experiment has been designed for introductory organic chemistry. Multiple outcomes were established using commercially available two- and three-component analgesic medications based on acetaminophen, acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), and ibuprofen. A series of 11…

Determination of enzyme activity is crucial for discovery, research, and development in life sciences. The activity of enzymes is routinely determined using spectrophotometric assays that measure rates of substrate consumption or product formation. Though colorimetric-based detection systems are simple, rapid, and economical to perform, the…

Volumetric titrations are an accurate and precise analytical method, which explains their use in industrial and research settings and their inclusion in senior secondary chemistry curricula around the world. Students often have difficulty understanding the intricacies of titrations because they are novices being presented with a long list of…