Science instructors sometimes avoid inquiry-based activities due to limited classroom time. Inquiry takes time, as students choose problems, design experiments, obtain materials, conduct investigations, gather data, communicate results, and discuss their experiments. While there are no quick solutions to time concerns, the 5E learning cycle seeks…

Objective: Although abnormalities of neural circuits involving the cortex, striatum, and thalamus are hypothesized to underlie Tourette's disorder, the neuronal abnormalities within components of these circuits are unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the cellular neurochemistry within these circuits in Tourette's disorder using…

Notational systems, used in mature fields of study, are closely related to design languages. The future of a technological field depends on the ability to communicate ideas and changes with others in the field. Instructional technology is one field that can benefit from a notation system enabling designers to duplicate, execute, and communicate…

This authentic inquiry-based chemistry experiment provides high school students with an opportunity to investigate the effect of toothpastes on the rate of tooth decay. Students need to design and carry out a fair test to compare the effects of different brands of toothpaste. The author has developed rubrics for assessing students' planning skills…

This laboratory experiment was designed for Chemistry, Food Technology, Biology, and Chemical Engineering undergraduate students. This laboratory experience shows the advantages of immobilized bakery yeasts in ethanol production by alcoholic fermentation. The students were able to compare the ethanol production yields by free or calcium alginate…

This work describes the project for an advanced undergraduate laboratory course in cell and molecular biology. One objective of the course is to teach students a variety of cellular and molecular techniques while conducting original research. A second objective is to provide instruction in science writing and data presentation by requiring…

The use of biocatalysis and biotransformations are important tools in green chemistry. The enantioselective reduction of a ketone by crude plant parts, using carrot ("Daucus carota") as the reducing agent is presented. The experiment introduces an example of a green chemistry procedure that can be tailored to fit in a regular laboratory session.…

The selective syntheses of the cyclic monoterpenoids alpha-terpineol or alpha-cyclogeraniol from the acyclic monoterpenoid nerol using p-toluenesulfonic acid or chlorosulfonic acid as cyclizing agents, respectively, are described. The different behavior of nerol under diverse experimental conditions such as nature of the acid agents, solvents, and…

Metal rods of high purity for many elements are now commercially available and may be used to construct a display of relative densities. We have constructed a display with nine metal rods (Mg, Al, Ti, V, Fe, Cu, Ag, Pb, and W) of equal mass whose densities vary from 1.74 to 19.3 g cm[superscript -3]. The relative densities of the metals may be…

This article describes the central limit theorem (CLT) and its relation to analytical chemistry. The pedagogic rational, which argues for teaching the CLT in the analytical chemistry classroom, is discussed. Some analytical chemistry concepts that could be improved through an understanding of the CLT are also described. (Contains 2 figures.)

Dipyrromethanes (or dipyrrilmethanes) are important building blocks for many of the structures of interest in the areas of porphyrins, materials science, optics, and medicine. A variety of conditions have been established for the synthesis of dipyrromethanes of diverse structures, from substituted pyrroles to unsubstituted pyrrole and carbonyl…

For 137 years Markovnikov's rule has been extensively used in organic chemical education and research to describe the regioselectivity in electrophilic addition reactions to alkenes and alkynes. When the structures of the final reaction products are used as reference, the rule requests that certain polar addition reactions be termed…

A summer course was developed with the goal of preparing girls to succeed in secondary school chemistry. Group work and mathematical, logical, and laboratory skills were stressed in the course, with minimal emphasis on memorization. Students who took the summer course ranked statistically higher during their first semester of high school chemistry…

Most chemistry and biology teachers will agree that students have a "disconnect" between these two disciplines. This likely results from the categorization of the topics into two classes or two separate years of study. In this article, the author provides one example of how the two disciplines can be related in an environmental application that…

The construction and use of a low-cost continuous-flow instrument for measuring the kinetics of fast reaction which include the use of an light emitting diode light source, a photodiode-on-a-chip detector, and a position sensor is demonstrated. The instrument is suitable for the physical chemistry laboratory and could be used to study the kinetics…