The following activity was developed to allow students to actively participate in and measure the kinetics of a multistep process. Each group of students is given a stack of blank coloring pages, each with a rainbow design printed on it. Each student in a group is given a different color crayon and colors in their portion of the picture before…

Thin-layer chromatography, which involves the movement of dyes along a silica-coated plate, is used to observe the progress of chemical reactions and to separate mixtures. We took advantage of this phenomenon to devise a method for generating patterns in the shape of numbers with dots (dot matrix). We prepared the azo dyes necessary for generating…

3D printers have facilitated a wealth of 3D printed molecular models illustrating key structural concepts for student learning. However, general adoption of 3D printed models in the organic chemistry classroom proceeds slowly as the majority of consumer-grade 3D (fused deposition modeling (FDM) and resin) printers are inherently monochromatic,…

An introductory normal phase column chromatography experiment is described and evaluated for second year undergraduate chemistry laboratory class. The experiment involves a nucleophilic substitution yielding a crude mixture of reactant and one product, both of which are brightly colored and contrasting, creating a clearly visual separation when…

During the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), a paper analytical device (PAD) was proposed as a tool for remote laboratory classes for undergraduate chemistry to teach calibration curve concepts. For this experiment, students were taught how to prepare a PAD, calibrate standard solutions, construct a calibration curve, and treat data…

Visual literacy literature published during 1965-1975 was surveyed. Entries cited in psychological abstracts, dissertation abstracts, Scientific American, Resources in Education (RIE), and Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE) were grouped under the following categories: definition, information transmission, advanced organization,…