As a rule, an experiment carried out at school or in undergraduate study courses is rather simple and not very informative. However, when the experiments are to be performed using modern methods, they are often abstract and difficult to understand. Here, we describe a quick and simple experiment, namely the enzymatic characterization of ptyalin…

Wheat powdery mildew is an important fungal pathogen of wheat with an obligatory biotrophic lifestyle (a parasite that can only develop on a living host). We investigated the genetics of this host-pathogen interaction by using phenotyping and PCR assays to detect genes in both wheat and powdery mildew, which are known determinants of the outcome…

A laboratory experiment that involves the aqueous and solid phase synthesis, characterization, and solvatochromic properties exploration of red complex [Ni(Me[subscript 3]en)(acac)]BPh[subscript 4] has been developed for first-year undergraduates in the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Xiamen University. In contrast to previously…

To improve the experimental interest and innovative ability of advanced undergraduate students, a luminescent sensing laboratory experiment with visual performance characteristics is introduced. Students have synthesized an organic hybrid cage-like europium-germanate oxo cluster with the formula of [Eu[subscript 8](phen) [subscript 2]Ge[subscript…

Developing program-level assessment systems creates an opportunity for faculty to think deeply about their student learning objectives while creating structures that provide meaningful and actionable feedback. Unfortunately, many programs lack the expertise and/or support at the programmatic or institutional level to create efficient and effective…

The mathematical form of the magnetic field due to a current loop, and the fact that it is identical to the electric field due to an electric dipole in the far field, are fundamental to our understanding of electromagnetism. While undergraduate level electromagnetism textbooks usually derive the electric field from an electric dipole, few derive…

To reduce the cost of educational materials needed by students, we generated a no-cost open educational resources (OER) textbook for an undergraduate level cell biology course. Cell biology is part of the curriculum in various undergraduate degrees for science, technology, engineering, and math majors, therefore generation of OER targets a large…

Concerns regarding students' difficulties with the concept of energy date back to the 1970s. They become particularly apparent for systems involving adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which plays a central role in maintaining the nonequilibrium state of biological systems and in driving energetically unfavorable processes. One of the most…

A challenge that exists in higher education is the lack of relatability between students and teachers. This disconnect likely prevents students from asking for help before, during, and/or after class. One way to increase relatability between students and teachers is by having a simple 5-minute conversation during an individual meeting, where I…

Heterocyclic compounds are an integral part of research, particularly in the pharmaceutical field. The synthesis of such compounds in an undergraduate laboratory can help students understand the relevance and importance of their field of study. Our experimental activity introduces a novel procedure to synthesize coumarin, a heterocyclic formed by…

Previous educational articles on microfluidic technology mainly focused on continuous microfluidics, so we set up an undergraduate laboratory experiment to introduce droplet microfluidics to students. Students can understand the concept of microfluidic channels and the principles of droplet microfluidics, prepare polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)…

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are crucial facilitators of undergraduate education, yet many begin their teaching appointments with minimal knowledge of teaching practices. Chemistry Instructional Coaching offers GTAs at the University of Michigan an opportunity to develop their instructional practice through a collaborative, nonevaluative,…

The addition of a small excess of triethyl orthoformate to an alcoholic mixture of NiCl[subscript 2]·6H[subscript 2]O and triphenylphosphine (PPh[subscript 3]) results in an increase in the typical isolated yield of [NiCl[subscript 2](PPh[subscript 3])[subscript 2]] from below 50% to over 85%. The impact of water when present in the reaction…

The formation of chemical patterns is in general difficult to control due to the random diffusive motions of the reacting chemical species in solution. In this paper, we present a new method using audible sound to control the formation of chemical patterns obtained in blue bottle experiments. The waves generated on the surface of the solution by…

Nationally, as the chemical community aspires to become more diverse, it is essential to make students of all races, ethnicities, gender expressions, and physical abilities feel welcomed and represented in the introductory courses in the field. One way to accomplish this goal is to present examples of scientists who are not traditionally included…