Compared with a single gravity pendulum, the spherical pendulum behaves more complicatedly in experiments, which makes it difficult to measure. In this paper, we present a method to visualize the trajectories of a spherical pendulum by employing a gravity ball with a lit LED and a digital camera. This new measurement is inexpensive and easy to…

Increasingly, the undergraduate chemistry curriculum includes nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Advanced NMR techniques are often taught including two-dimensional gradient-based experiments. An investigation of intermolecular forces including viscosity, by a variety of methods, is often integrated in the undergraduate physical and…

Most undergraduate physiology texts describe veins simply as reservoirs for blood and conduits for return of blood to the heart. This article describes a laboratory exercise that can be performed by students to demonstrate that veins are much more than reservoirs and conduits for blood flow: they possess a dynamic rhythmic contraction. In this…

The laboratory measurement of the magnetic force acting on a straight wire of length "l" carrying a current of intensity "i" in a magnetic field "B" is usually made using current balances, which are offered by various physics apparatus suppliers' catalogues. These balances require an adequate magnet and commonly allow only the measurement of the…

By adding a large quantity of Cl[superscript -] to an aqueous solution of CoCl[subscript 2][multiplied by]6H[subscript 2]O, a mixture containing a red octahedral cobalt complex and a blue tetrahedral complex is produced. When the solution temperature is modified, the equilibrium constant, K[subscript eq], of the complexation reaction is shifted…

The empirical formulas of four cupric hydrates are determined by measuring the absorbance in aqueous solution. The Beer-Lambert Law is verified by constructing a calibration curve of absorbance versus known Cu[superscript 2+](aq) concentration. A solution of the unknown hydrate is prepared by using 0.2-0.3 g of hydrate, and water is added such…

A convenient laboratory experiment is described in which NMR magnetization transfer by inversion recovery is used to measure the kinetics and thermochemistry of amide bond rotation. The experiment utilizes Varian spectrometers with the VNMRJ 2.3 software, but can be easily adapted to any NMR platform. The procedures and sample data sets in this…

Many soils throughout the world are contaminated with metal salts of diverse toxicity. We have developed an experiment to demonstrate the removal of a metal from an insoluble surrogate soil pollutant, CuCO[subscript 3] multiplied by Cu(OH)[subscript 2], by complexation followed by the simultaneous electrochemical recovery of the ligand (i.e.,…

Thermotropic liquid crystal phases are ordered fluids found, for some molecules, at intermediate temperatures between the crystal and liquid states. Although technologically important, these materials typically receive little attention in the undergraduate curriculum. Here, we describe a laboratory activity for introductory organic chemistry…

A laboratory experiment aimed at students who are studying coordination chemistry of transition-metal complexes is described. A simple vanadyl acetylacetonate complex can be used as a catalyst in the hydrogen peroxide oxidation of anthracene to produce anthraquinone. The reaction can be performed under a variety of reaction conditions, ideally by…

The physical chemistry laboratory is sometimes constrained to one semester, resulting in pedagogical deficiencies for the students taking the course. The use of a multidimensional laboratory exercise offers students the opportunity to encounter multiple experimental techniques and physical chemistry concepts while not sacrificing a significant…

With the development of LabVIEW[TM] Education Edition schools can now provide experience of using this widely used software. Here, a few of the many applications that students aged around 11 years and over could develop are outlined in the resulting front panel screen displays and block diagrams showing the associated graphical programmes, plus a…

Educators are increasingly being called upon to provide evidence of student learning. Traditional assessments are not always the best venue for demonstrating conceptual understanding, particularly in science. This paper presents details on the design, use, and scoring of a performance-based assessment for measuring student understanding of…

A procedure for teaching green chemistry through laboratory experiments is presented in which students are challenged to use the 12 principles of green chemistry to review and modify synthesis protocols to improve greenness. A global metric, green star, is used in parallel with green chemistry mass metrics to evaluate the improvement in greenness.…

A method for the construction of a Galilean thermometer out of common chemistry glassware is described. Students in a first-semester physical chemistry (thermodynamics) class can construct the Galilean thermometer as an investigation of the thermal expansivity of liquids and the temperature dependence of density. This is an excellent first…