We report on a simple, rapid, and room-temperature undergraduate-level experiment for gold nanoparticle synthesis, analysis, and utilization as a catalyst for the sodium-borohydride-assisted reduction of methylene blue and Congo red dyes. Typical procedures toward gold nanoparticle formation require an elaborate, lengthy synthesis (some requiring…

The concept of equilibrium vapor pressure plays a key role in the general chemistry curriculum; it is among the first and most easily demonstrated examples of equilibrium and frequently caps off the first semester of general chemistry where it illustrates the properties of liquids and intermolecular forces. We report here simple modifications of…

All-solid-state polymer electrolytes (SPEs) have been regarded as an advisible alternative for simultaneously overcoming the safety issues and high energy density demands presented in traditional lithium batteries, and they represent the development orientation of energy storage devices. This course describes the preparation of a cross-linked and…

In mid-March 2020, due to the novel coronavirus, my 300-level Environmental Sampling Methods lecture/laboratory course transitioned to distance learning. After this move, the primary focus of the course became the laboratory. To do this, I revised my three remaining laboratory exercises (i.e., water quality, soil quality, environmental microbes)…

An online virtual escape-room game was created using the Google Forms survey app for an undergraduate chemistry lab class. Zoom video conferencing service was used to make the activity a collaborative learning experience. The theme was an escape from an abandoned chocolate factory, and the students solved problems to move to the next section or…

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has changed not only people's daily lives but also the education system. The rise of e-learning all across the world has challenged both students and teachers to adapt to digital technologies and a novel learning experience on both sides. As if COVID-19 was not enough, many students were facing the alien…

The Spring 2020 semester students were faced with the challenge of adjusting how they learned in the middle of the semester, as the situation changed from instructors holding group office hours and study sessions for the upcoming midterm exams to faculty and students scrambling to gather their belongings before the impending lockdown. Immediately…

Secondary metabolite compounds contained in each plant genus have certain characteristics, which is true also of the flavonoid in the genus "Artocarpus." In the experiment described here, third-year undergraduate students performed the isolation and characterization of cycloartocarpin from the roots of "Artocarpus altilis"…

According to the definition, surface tension could be affected not only by intermolecular interaction but also by molecular area. However, in chemistry textbooks, surface tension is mainly explained only in terms of intermolecular interaction. Although the existing surface tension concept in the textbooks can lead to a variety of counterexamples,…

A strategy for incorporating social justice themes into an introductory organic chemistry curriculum is described. We have deliberately infused social justice themes into the standard organic chemistry curriculum by discussing the history and social impact of key compounds. Using these key compounds that have had significant social, cultural, and…

For abstract concepts to be well understood, students need to be familiar with the concepts and able to associate them correctly. Students cannot make scientific explanations on the subject unless they can establish relationships. This study aimed to determine the understanding level of 11th-grade high school students on "gases" in terms…

A two-year targeted intervention designed to improve students' oral communication skills in an organic chemistry laboratory course is described. The study compares the oral communication skills of groups who received interventions versus those who did not. The collaborative effort involving chemistry and English faculty and an instruction…

An application for visualizing the dynamic properties of an equimolar binary mixture of isotropic reactive particles is presented. By introducing a user selectable choice for the activation energy, the application is useful to demonstrate qualitatively that the reaction rate depends on the above choice and on temperature. The application is based…

The demand for sustainable synthetic methods has motivated the development of a myriad of strategies for substrate oxidation chemistry that reflect the goals of green chemistry. Here we present a two-part laboratory module that provides undergraduate chemistry students hands-on experience with the concepts of sustainable chemistry in the context…

A virtual reality (VR) session was introduced to an advanced inorganic chemistry class, a class available to junior and senior undergraduate students at the University of California, Los Angeles. The VR session helped the students to learn complicated aspects of metal coordination chemistry and molecular orbitals via an immersive three-dimensional…