Junior engineers are increasingly placing blind trust in computer generated structural analysis results, but the evaluation skills used by experienced engineers must have been learned at some point. Therefore, this study investigated whether evaluation skills in the categories of fundamental principles, features of the solution, and approximations…

An undergraduate degree in engineering requires students to not only be proficient in engineering knowledge but also acquire comprehensive skills such as independent learning ability, strong communication skills, social knowledge, and innovative thinking. Therefore, problem-based learning (PBL), which is a student-centered approach, is getting…

It is not often realized by chemists that the special theory of relativity is behind several aspects of quantum chemistry. The Schrdinger equation itself is based on relations between space-time and energy-momentum four vectors. Electron spin is, of course, the most obvious manifestation of relativity. The chemistry of some heavy elements is…

This paper presents a reflection on the use of Scaffolding Approach to engage Civil Engineering students in learning Structural Analysis subjects. In this approach, after listening to the lecture on background theory, students are provided with a series of practice problems, each one comes with the steps, formulas, hints, and tables needed to…

This study examines instructors' perceptions regarding the skills and topics that are most important in the teaching of a Systems Analysis and Design ("SAD") course and the class time devoted to each. A large number of Information Systems ("IS") educators at AACSB accredited schools across the United States were surveyed.…

The use of permanent magnet [to the thirteenth power]C NMR in large-section first-semester organic chemistry lab courses is limited by the availability of experiments that not only hinge on first-semester lecture topics, but which also produce at least 0.5 mL of neat liquid sample. This article reports a discovery-based experiment that meets both…

The chemistry of dissolved inorganic carbon in seawater is reviewed and used to predict the potential effect of rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In agreement with more detailed treatments, we find that calcium carbonate (aragonite) may become unsaturated in cold surface seawater by the year 2100 C.E., resulting in the destruction…

This 8-hour experiment (spread over two 4-hour sessions) is designed to equip students with essential skills in polymer synthesis, particularly in synthesizing polymers of well-defined molecular weight. The experiment involves the synthesis and characterization of poly(vinyl neodecanoate) via living free radical polymerization, specifically the…

Smaller, faster computers, bullet-proof t-shirts, and itty-bitty robots--such are the promises of nanotechnology and the cylinder-shaped collection of carbon molecules known as nanotubes. But for these exciting ideas to become realities, scientists must understand how these miracle molecules perform under all sorts of conditions. This brief…

Biodiesel was synthesized by transesterification of waste vegetable oil using common glassware and reagents, and characterized by measuring heat of combustion, cloud point, density and measuring the heat of combustion and density together allows the student the energy density of the fuel. Analyzing the biodiesel can serve as a challenging and…

The current paper describes the design and development of a qualitative analysis course and an interactive web-based teaching and assessment tool called VSE (virtual structural environment). The widespread reliance on structural analysis programs requires engineers to be able to verify computer output by carrying out qualitative analyses.…

An introductory undergraduate physical organic chemistry exercise that introduces the harmonic oscillator's use in vibrational spectroscopy is developed. The analysis and modeling exercise begins with the students calculating the stretching modes of common organic molecules with the help of the quantum mechanical harmonic oscillator (QMHO) model.

The DNA triplet code also functions as a binary code. Because double-ring compounds cannot bind to double-ring compounds in the DNA code, the sequence of bases classified simply as purines or pyrimidines can encode for smaller groups of possible amino acids. This is an intuitive approach to teaching the DNA code. (Contains 6 figures.)

The use of crude flower extracts to the principle of analytical chemistry automation, with the flow injection analysis (FIA) procedure developed to determine hypochlorite in household bleaching products was performed. The FIA comprises a group of techniques based on injection of a liquid sample into a moving, nonsegmented carrier stream of a…

Understanding the basic principles of structural biology is becoming a major subject of study in most undergraduate level programs in biology. In the genomic and proteomic age, it is becoming indispensable for biology students to master concepts related to the sequence and structure of proteins in order to develop skills that may be useful in a…