Understanding the basics of d-electron configuration and the spin state of coordination complexes are essential elements of undergraduate inorganic chemistry. However, students in these courses find it difficult to conceptualize the ideas. Here, we have developed an undergraduate laboratory experiment that allows students to systematically…

Flow synthesis in microfluidic devices has been rapidly adapted in the pharmaceutical industry and in many research laboratories. Yet, the cost of commercial flow reactors is a major factor limiting the dissemination of this technology in the undergraduate curriculum. Here, we present a laboratory activity where students design and fabricate…

A laboratory experiment was designed for undergraduate students, in which the outcome of an easy single-step organic synthesis with well-defined conditions was not elucidated until the end of the exercise. In class, students predict and discuss the possible products using their knowledge of reaction mechanisms. In the laboratory, they learn how to…

A discovery-oriented lab experiment is developed that illustrates the chemoselective nature of reductions using sodium borohydride. Products are of sufficient purity to allow analysis by spectroscopy without further purification.

Describes a laboratory course in Physical Geology designed to encourage students to ask their own questions and to develop and test their own answers. The essence of this approach lies in providing a minimum of preconditioning before the exercises. (MLH)

Describes a summer course in chemistry conducted by college teachers for children aged 9 through 12. The children were provided with simple laboratory equipment and performed actual experiments and recorded the results. A few demonstrations were given, but lecturing was kept to a minimum. (MLH)

Hands-on science typically uses physical materials to give students first-hand experience in scientific methodologies, but the recent availability of virtual laboratories raises an important question about whether what students' hands are on matters to their learning. The overall findings of two articles that employed simple comparisons of…

Presents some introductory experiments involving the reaction between EDTA and several metal ions using metallochromic indicators. The experiments represent familiar reactions and are followed by suggestions for extension into areas of discovery work by students. (Author/SA)

Classroom discussion of scientific articles can be an effective means of teaching scientific principles and methodology to both undergraduate and graduate science students. The availability of classic papers from the American Physiological Society Legacy Project has made it possible to access articles dating back to the early portions of the 20th…

Proposes that the psychological problem of students expecting a particular result in an organic chemistry laboratory and, therefore, working in an unthinking manner be attacked by assigning experiments that give students unexpected results. Gives four examples of such experiments with strategies for teaching them. (CW)

Advocated is the use of interactive centers to supplement existing classroom laboratory experiences. Activities found in the center and modified classroom versions are described. The problems that arise when primary students meet sophisticated exhibits is discussed. (KR)