In the face of accelerating climate change, effective education is paramount to fostering informed citizens and enacting meaningful action. Effective climate instruction contextualizes content so that students are engaged emotionally (affect) and can translate science into action. This paper describes six courses that use integrated approaches to…

Engaging in laboratory practical activities, developing laboratory practical skills, and, to a degree, even wearing laboratory protective equipment such as safety coats and goggles are all quintessential components of chemistry education. It is becoming quite common for institutions to invest in large-scale chemistry teaching laboratories, filling…

The interdisciplinary nature of food makes it an effective teaching vehicle in many fields. This article shows specifically how flavor and food fermentation, two topics not usually featured in the undergraduate STEM curriculum, can inspire a powerful interdisciplinary learning experience. Importantly, because of their accessible nature and…

Many simple chemical reactions produce an audible fizz due to the formation of gases, such as oxygen, hydrogen, or carbon dioxide. A hands-on activity based on perceiving these audible chemical changes is presented. The relative quality of fizz due to the formation of gases in a chemical reaction was determined by visually impaired middle and high…

The aroma volatile compounds in tomatoes are strongly linked to taste and flavor. Commercial tomato varieties, however, generally lack flavor. Tomato breeding programs have therefore started to focus on increasing the flavor-enhancing volatiles, which can be more easily altered than the sugar content. Analytical efforts that identify key flavor…

Candy, an everyday treat, is a convenient theme for teaching chemistry. Making candy incorporates solution concentration, colligative properties, and phase transformations while flavoring and color reflect synthesis or extraction. In this article, a nonscience major laboratory course on candy chemistry is presented. The course combines laboratory…

In the last decade, our understanding of the chemistry of olive oil has dramatically improved. Here, the essential chemistry of olive oil and its important minor constituents is described and related to the typical sensory categories used to rate and experience oils: color, aroma, bitterness, and pungency. We also describe experiments to explore…

This article describes the organic chemistry of five compounds that are directly associated with the Christmas season. These substances and related materials are presented within the framework of the five senses: silver fulminate (sound), alpha-pinene (sight), sodium acetate (touch), tryptophan (taste), and gingerol (smell). Connections with the…

By modifying secret writing formulas uncovered from the archives of the East German Ministry of State Security (MfS or Stasi), a novel general chemistry secret writing laboratory was developed. The laboratory combines science and history that highlights several fundamental chemical principles related to the writing. These include catalysis, redox…

Olfactory titrations using raw onions and eugenol as acid-base indicators are reported. An in-depth investigation on olfactory titrations is presented to include requirements for potential olfactory indicators and protocols for using garlic, onions, and vanillin as acid-base olfactory indicators are tested.

Discusses the development of perfumes through extraction from natural sources and synthetic generation. Describes several activities in which students can create their own fragrances by expression and extraction through a solvent, steam distillation of oil of peppermint, extraction using almond oil, and enfleurage. (TW)

Describes the use of bubble-type plastic packing material to make "pop-and-sniff" materials that contain common smells from chemicals such as amyl acetate (banana smell). Discusses how these materials can be used by elementary school teachers to enhance thinking skills. (TW)