Interactivity and inquiry-based learning science are effective ways of helping students overcome their perception of chemistry as an alien and abstract topic and instead approach the subject as a creative way of understanding ideas and applying mastered concepts to new contexts. Data acquisition systems are an extremely useful form of educational…

Intracellular and extracellular communication is conducted through an intricate and interwoven network of signal transduction pathways. The mechanisms for how cells speak with one another are of significant biological importance to both basic and industrial scientists from a number of different disciplines. We have therefore developed and…

Virtual laboratory experiments using interactive computer simulations are not being employed as viable alternatives to laboratory science curriculum at extensive enough rates within higher education. Rote traditional lab experiments are currently the norm and are not addressing inquiry, Critical Thinking, and cognition throughout the laboratory…

This paper presents an original approach for Chemical Engineering laboratory teaching that is currently applied at INP-ENSIACET (France). This approach, referred to as "pilot-unit leading group" is based on a partial management of the laboratories by the students themselves who become temporarily in charge of one specific laboratory. In…

This undergraduate organic laboratory experiment complements previously described and popular experiments on hydration of 1-hexene where students experimentally establish the Markovnikov regioselectivity of alkene hydration. In this experiment, students explore not only the regiochemistry but also the stereochemistry of 1-hexene hydration and…

The depolymerization of the plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) is described in this laboratory procedure. The transesterification reaction used to depolymerize PET employs a highly efficient N-heterocyclic carbene catalyst derived from a commercially available imidazolium ionic liquid. N-heterocyclic carbenes are potent nucleophilic…

Environmentally benign chemistry is an increasingly important topic both in the classroom and the laboratory. In this experiment, students synthesize divanillin from vanillin or diapocynin from apocynin, using horseradish peroxidase and hydrogen peroxide in water. The dimerized products form rapidly at ambient temperature and are isolated by…

We report a simple, inexpensive, visual, and environmentally friendly S[subscript N]2 reaction appropriate for the second-year organic chemistry laboratory that illustrates stereospecificity, dependence of water solubility on the state of ionization, optical activity, and effect of diastereotopic protons in [superscript 1]H NMR spectroscopy. The…

Recently, the use of animal laboratories has decreased in medical and basic science programs due to lack of trained faculty members, student concerns about animal welfare, and the increased availability of inexpensive alternatives such as computer simulations and videos. Animal laboratories, however, have several advantages over alternative forms…

Enzyme purification projects are an excellent way to introduce many aspects of protein biochemistry, but can be difficult to carry out under the constraints of a typical undergraduate laboratory course. We have designed a short laboratory project for the purification and identification of an "unknown" lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isozyme that can…

This paper is concerned with improvements in some exact formulae for the period of the simple pendulum problem. Two recently presented formulae are re-examined and refined rationally, yielding more accurate approximate periods. Based on the improved expressions here, a particular new formula is proposed for the period. It is shown that the derived…

This paper presents an experiment in which students determine the mass sensitivity of three crystal quartz resonators, designed to be carried out in "Physics Laboratory II" at the Institute of Experimental Physics, University of Wroclaw. The authors discuss the process of setting up the experiment and the results of the measurements.…

As an aid for teaching phase equilibria to undergraduate students of igneous and metamorphic petrology, we have designed a laboratory exercise that allows them to create a phase diagram from data produced by differential scanning calorimetry. By preparing and analyzing samples of naphthalene and phenanthrene, students acquire hands-on insight into…

Explanations of chemical phenomena rely on understanding the behavior of submicroscopic particles. Because this level is "invisible," it is described using symbols such as models, diagrams and equations. For this reason, students often view chemistry as a "difficult" subject. The laboratory offers a unique opportunity for the students to…

In the process of working through evaluation of efforts to transform undergraduate laboratory experiences at our institution, we developed a protocol for observing laboratory learning environments that could be used in varying institutional contexts. We began using the Instructional Practices Inventory and found many strengths in this protocol but…