Mathematics is used in the physical sciences to describe and model phenomena, resulting in a unique interface between mathematics and disciplines such as chemistry and physics. This paper focuses on themes emerging from a larger project that investigated how students understand and use mathematics in chemical kinetics, a field of study concerned…

Molecular symmetry plays an important role in many areas of chemistry, and students are generally taught to identify intramolecular symmetries at the undergraduate level. Intermolecular symmetry, the symmetry among groups of molecules, is of great importance in topics such as X-ray crystallography, but it receives substantially less attention.…

Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of titanosilicate ETS-10 was used as a means to prepare students for a research-focused independent term project as part of a 200-level descriptive inorganic chemistry course. Students spent the first 7 weeks of the course learning synthesis and characterization techniques that are common for metal oxide…

Single-crystal X-ray structures, melting points, and students' specific rotation results on carvone semicarbazone derivatives are presented with experimental details. Critical parameters are identified to ensure the success of the experiment. Procedures developed here were tested in a laboratory course, consisting of approximately 70 students over…

Educators are constantly looking to improve their pedagogical strategies. This can range from teaching strategies for a specific topic to holistic curriculum changes. Recently, the approach that chemistry departments have chosen to deliver their introductory courses has garnished increasing attention from educators. Our department recently…

Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions are well-known among the most versatile catalytic C-C bond formation reactions. Two different routes of C-C bond Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions for the undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory courses have been designed and explained. A two-step reaction involving a catalyst preparation as the first step and…

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the conversion of the quantitative chemical laboratory from a face-to-face format to a distance learning format for the latter half of the Spring 2020 semester. This work provides insight into two different types of assignments given to students during this time: a lab report and a short-answer assignment. At the…

Online conferences are a means of replacing the absence of physical meetings canceled due to COVID-19. In this communication we outline ten tips for those looking to host online meetings, based on our recent experience of running the conference "Methods in Chemistry Education Research (MICER)" online to 320 participants over 3 days in…

Rising cases of COVID-19 caused St. John's University to transition to an online educational model in the spring 2020 semester. As a result, an in-person Cooperative Learning advanced general chemistry laboratory course was transitioned into an online/remote Cooperative Learning experience. Cooperative Learning in the general chemistry laboratory…

We report a research-enhanced undergraduate laboratory practical in which students synthesize and characterize color-controllable, stable silver nanoparticles for use in a simple catalytic reaction analyzed by UV-vis spectroscopy. The practical has been prepared for students using electronic laboratory notebooks, enables collaborative data…

A new two-step experiment has been designed and developed for the curriculum of the Organic Chemistry Laboratory 2 (CHEM2240L) sophomore course at Xavier University of Louisiana, in New Orleans. Initially, cyclohexanol was converted to cyclohexanone using bleach as the oxidizing agent followed by the formation of the cyclohexanone oxime. However,…

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is an indispensable technique in the organic chemistry laboratory for elucidation of molecular structure. Miniaturization of NMR technology has attracted attention and acceptance due to a considerable reduction in the cost to acquire and maintain the instrument. The advent of low-field, low-cost, and…

Genome editing has widespread influence in many fields, including medicine, biotechnology, and agriculture. Despite their origins in chemistry laboratories, these techniques are currently under utilized in chemistry curricula. Introducing future generations of chemists to these emerging technologies is essential in chemistry classrooms. The…

Publicly available, learner-generated questions were used to develop a methodology for advancing the exploratory stages of science education research. Data from four complementary online sources were collected, analyzed, and compared to the extant research literature on the science education topic of isotopes, a challenging concept for many…

Group work can engage students in active learning, yet students often resist working with peers in class. We investigated the impact of five minimally structured, easily implemented group work strategies used during weekly problem-based discussion sections in two introductory chemistry courses through student surveys and quiz score analyses.…