Radical chemistry is an essential part of the organic chemistry curriculum. Free radical halogenation experiments provide an excellent opportunity to introduce important topics related to the outcome and mechanism of organic reactions. In this communication, a green photochemically activated benzylic bromination of p-toluic acid is described. In…

The prompt transfer of cutting-edge science into students' curricula is a challenging task. Often research experiments are too complex or expensive to be translated into a secondary or tertiary education setting. Herein, we introduce a laboratory experiment that translates the recently developed research technique of a wavelength dependent,…

Examination of my students' individual gains on the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) over the course of several semesters led to the realization that student pretest knowledge on certain key questions appeared to be correlated to enhanced gain during the class. Acting under the hypothesis that early intervention aimed at helping the class perform…

Acid--base chemistry is an important and challenging topic for virtually all chemistry students. Recent works have focused on conceptually linking molecular and symbolic representations to experimental evidence for many chemical concepts. In this work we describe a laboratory exercise designed to address students' conceptual challenges regarding…

This report presents a miniproject for teaching sustainability through the production of adsorbents from sewage sludge. The activity was tested during the Physical Chemistry II portion of an Agro-Industrial Engineering Course and lasted 4 weeks. The activities developed by the students included preparing the adsorbents ("in natura,"…

This paper describes an upper-division undergraduate exercise involving the synthesis and iodometric and infrared spectroscopic analysis of the peroxide double salt [Zn(NH[subscript 3])[subscript 4]][Mo(O[subscript 2])[subscript 4]]. Here, iodometric methods are employed to determine the peroxide content of the compound, a procedure widely used…

This paper describes a first-year undergraduate exercise involving the synthesis of an "unknown" polyiodide salt, (NMe[subscript 4])[I[subscript 5]], and the determination of its formula using the classic iodine-thiosulfate (iodometric) titration. The exercise introduces students to simple synthetic and titrimetric techniques, assists…

Due to a growing awareness of environmental issues, green chemistry concepts are increasingly being incorporated into the undergraduate organic chemistry lecture and laboratory component. This minireview summarizes environmentally friendly organic chemistry experiments suitable for undergraduate laboratories. Whenever feasible, LD[subscript 50]…

Using Tracker, a popular video-based physics modeling tool, the position-time data of magnetically damped oscillations of a simple pendulum are acquired. Eddy currents are generated on an aluminum sheet as the magnetic pendulum bob passes over it and the induced magnetic field opposes that of the magnetic bob. This causes the damping. A…

Resonant cavity perturbation as a means to measuring permittivity has been used since the early 1940s. It is attractive because it is non-contact, non-destructive and experimentally simple. Only recently, however, has the cost of a small analyser board become acceptably low that experiments can be carried out in schools and colleges. Using the TE…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore how middle school science teachers enact the practice of using technology to support collaborative argumentation in their science classroom. This study employs qualitative case study and drew on data sources of interviews and observations. This study identifies two themes. Six teachers regard…

The author introduces the Passive Dynamic Walker robot, which is constructed with LEGOs and operates without any electronics. Building this robot offers an excellent platform for investigating center of mass and other important physics and engineering concepts.

This study provides information about the formation of colours with an experimental activity based on the reflection of coloured lights from pigments. The activity shows the formation of colour in a simple and entertaining way. The lights are reflected by being changed by different coloured pigments. This activity provides an opportunity to…

The acoustic resonance in four glass Helmholtz resonators with diameters of 70, 52, 40, and 32 mm was detected in the frequency range of 360 to 1700 Hz using the simple experimental setup presented in this paper. The measured amplitudes of acoustic pressure required correction since the sound pressure amplitude of the loudspeaker used was not…

When we teach thermodynamics, a vacuum container used to keep food isolated from air is a cheap and interesting teaching device. There are some experiments already described in the literature and we can also find videos of demonstrations on YouTube. At the same time, there is increasing interest in how to utilize smartphones in physics…