Discusses problems associated with standard diffraction grating experiments involving a diffraction grating, a straight meter stick, and a slit. Describes the use of a new spectroscope to overcome these problems using a curved scale to simplify calculations and help students obtain results from simple and straightforward measurements, thus giving…

In a 2003 issue of the "Journal of Chemical Education," Kniesel and Bellamy describe a timely and pedagogically effective experiment involving breath-alcohol analysis using an FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) spectrometer. The present article clarifies some of the information presented in the 2003 article.

Presents an experimental approach to teaching molecular orbital models. Suggests utilizing photoelectron spectroscopy and molecular orbital theory as complementary approaches to teaching the qualitative concepts basic to molecular orbital theory. (SLH)

A real-life analytical assignment is presented to students, who had to examine an air conditioning coolant solution for metal contamination using an atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). This hands-on access to a real problem exposed the undergraduate students to the mechanism of AAS, and promoted participation in a simulated industrial activity.

Presented are flow charts to help students interpret infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of simple organic compounds. Advantages in using these charts are outlined. (JN)

Describes an instructional experiment that was designed to illustrate the use of periodate oxidation in sugar analysis, and the consequence that the absorbance of mixtures of non-interacting substances is additive. (TW)

Provides a discussion which is intended for chemistry college students on the ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) spectroscopy, the physical basis for ion cyclotron resonance, and the experimental methodology employed by ICR spectroscopists. (HM)

Materials science can be taught by applying organic light-emitting electrochemical thin-film devices and in this method students were allowed to make a light-emitting device by spin coating a thin film containing ruthenium (II) complex ions onto a glass slide. Through this laboratory method students are provided with the opportunity to learn about…

Lecture-based experimental methods that include topics ranging from basic signal processing to the proper use of thermocouples to advanced optical techniques such as laser-induced fluorescence are described. The data obtained from this demonstration could be provided to the students in digital form to obtain useful engineering results such as an…

Encourages the incorporation into lecture of live experiments that can be predicted or interpreted with abstract models. A demonstration is described where the position of the predominant peak of 1,1'-diethyl-4,4'-cyanine iodide is measured in class using an overhead projector spectrometer, then predicted using the model of a particle in a…

Presented are definitions and a grid to clarify relationships between terms. Discussed is an example of the application of Einstein coefficients and some suggestions for teaching this concept. (CW)

A reaction kinetics experiment for the chemical engineering undergraduate laboratory course was developed in which in-situ Fourier Transfer Infrared spectroscopy was used to measure reactant and product concentrations. The kinetics of the hydrolysis of acetic anhydride was determined by experiments carried out in a batch reactor. The results…

The author believes that one of the best ways of educating the student of contemporary and future technology is to use modern devices, instruments, and techniques in an up-to-date college laboratory. Experiments which motivate and which are of interest to the student, the professor, and industry should be used extensively. (Author/TS)

The experiment described, suitable for undergraduate physical chemistry laboratories, illustrates the general principles of relaxation and introduces the nmr concepts of saturation and spin-inversion. (BB)

Describes a simple undergraduate experiment in chemistry dealing with the "solvent effects" in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Stresses the importance of having students learn NMR spectroscopy as a tool in analytical chemistry. (TW)