Three computer-based activities focusing on fundamentals of binding interactions are described that are powered by Desmos, freely available web-based software. The software allows the instructor to monitor the progress of each student completing the activity by privately viewing their answers in real time, to enforce class pacing by modulating…

Idiograms are graphical representations in which chromosomes appear ordered by their relative size, homology groups, and the presence of cytogenetic landmarks such as centromeres, secondary constrictions, and banding patterns. They have become crucial elements in cytogenetic research. Here, we describe a simple protocol for spreadsheet software to…

The exercises described here conveniently exploit the built-in acceleration sensors in smartphones, devices that are becoming ubiquitous if not essential items for most students. This allows each student to have the opportunity for a hands-on experience and to collect their own data, reduces preparation time, and greatly reduces cost by removing…

Students often approach biochemistry with a degree of trepidation with many considering it one of the more difficult subjects. This is, in part, due to the necessity of making visual images of submicroscopic concepts. Molecular interactions underpin most biological processes; therefore, mastering these concepts is essential. Understanding the…

Advances in 3D printing technology over the past decade have led to its expansion into all subfields of science, including chemistry. This technology provides useful teaching tools that facilitate communication of difficult chemical concepts to students and researchers. Presented here is the use of 3D printing technology to create tangible models…

Herein, a slightly enhanced version of extended Huckel molecular orbital theory is applied to demonstrate the spontaneous distortion of 1,3,5,7-cyclooctatetraene from a perfect octagon, a consequence of the Jahn-Teller effect. The exercise is accessible to students who have been introduced to basic quantum mechanics and extended Huckel molecular…

This article describes the results of using state-of-the-art, research-quality software as a learning tool in a general chemistry secondary school classroom setting. I present three activities designed to introduce fundamental chemical concepts regarding molecular shape and atomic orbitals to students with little background in chemistry, such as…

Currently, there are a number of educational applications that allow students to reinforce theoretical or numerical concepts through an interactive way. More precisely, in the field of the analytical chemistry, MATLAB has been widely used to write easy-to-implement code, facilitating complex performances and/or tedious calculations. The main…

A very low-cost, easy-to-make stopwatch is presented to support various experiments in mechanics. The high-resolution stopwatch is based on two photodetectors connected directly to the microphone input of a sound card. Dedicated free open-source software has been developed and made available to download. The efficiency is demonstrated by a free…

We have conducted an education project to communicate the wave energy concept to high school students. A virtual reality system that combines both hardware and software is developed in this project to simulate the buoy-wave interaction. This first-of-its-kind wave energy unit is portable and physics-based, allowing students to conduct a number of…

The Timepix hybrid silicon pixel detector has been used to investigate the inverse square law of radiation from a point source as a demonstration of the CERN [at] school detector kit capabilities. The experiment described uses a Timepix detector to detect the gamma rays emitted by an [superscript 241]Am radioactive source at a number of different…

A central challenge for science educators is to enable young people to act as scientists by gathering and assessing evidence, conducting experiments, and engaging in informed debate. We report the design of the nQuire toolkit, a system to support scripted personal inquiry learning, and a study of its use with school students ages 11-14. This…

A learning module for molecular level analysis of protein structure and ligand/drug interaction through the visualization of X-ray diffraction is presented. Using DeepView as molecular model visualization software, students learn about the general concepts of protein structure. This Biochemistry classroom exercise is designed to be carried out by…

A convenient laboratory experiment is described in which NMR magnetization transfer by inversion recovery is used to measure the kinetics and thermochemistry of amide bond rotation. The experiment utilizes Varian spectrometers with the VNMRJ 2.3 software, but can be easily adapted to any NMR platform. The procedures and sample data sets in this…

Have you ever put your hand on an electric motor or motor-driven electric appliance and felt it vibrate? Ever wonder why it vibrates? What is there about the operation of the motor, or the object to which it is attached, that causes the vibrations? Is there anything "regular" about the vibrations, or are they the result of random causes? In this…