Evidence-based reasoning and critical thinking are two crucial scientific abilities of students, sharing a close relationship with each other critical thinking is not just randomly refuting but a logical-reasoning thinking based on solid evidence. However, in real teaching circumstances of experiment classes, students easily directly accept the…

Iodonium zwitterions are hypervalent iodine compounds in which the iodine center binds to two substituents and carries a positive formal charge which is compensated by a negative charge within the same molecule. Under thermodynamic conditions, iodonium zwitterion sallow concerted nucleophilic aromatic substitutions to be performed, followed by…

This is an easy and cheap experiment where chemistry Masters students can evaluate the role of some metal ions (i.e., Cu[superscript II] and Mn[superscript II]) in dopamine oxidation, related to Parkinsonism. The required prior knowledge is being familiar with the basis of UV-vis spectroscopy. Details of the activity, including procedure and…

Recent international documents and educational standards have recommended Science Education be based on three dimensions (Scientific Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Disciplinary Core Ideas). This has resulted in an increased interest in research involving Scientific Practices in Science Education. The objectives of this article are to: I)…

Patch-clamp electrophysiological recordings of neuronal activity require a large amount of space and equipment. The technique is difficult to master and not conducive to demonstration to more than a few medical students. Therefore, neurophysiological education is mostly limited to classroom-based pedagogies such as lectures. However, the…

Chaotic phenomena are not part of standard curricula, although this subject offers several interesting aspects which can help students better understand basic features of science. A central observation is that even simple physical systems, if chaotic, are unpredictable, just like the weather. We present the principles applied when developing a…

In this paper, we present a selection methodology in the physics laboratory that lowers student anxiety and is beneficial to the instructors as well. At Mount Royal University, the traditional laboratory experimental exercises were replaced by a new style of laboratory called labatorials. In our previous research work, we found that labatorials…

The effects of kinetic vs thermodynamic control on "endo"/"exo" stereoisomer ratios can be observed in a simple Diels-Alder reaction between "N"-phenylmaleimide and furan. The use of microwave-promoted synthesis affords the cycloadducts in yields ranging from 65-100%, employing reaction times of 1-10 min at…

This two-period undergraduate laboratory experiment involves the synthesis of a mixture of isomeric unknowns, isolation of the mixture by means of distillation, and characterization of the two products primarily by NMR spectroscopy (1D and 2D) supported with IR spectroscopy and GC-MS techniques. Subsequent calculation and examination of the…

This lab experiment uses [superscript 31]P NMR spectroscopy of biomolecules to determine pK[subscript a] values and the binding energies of metal/biomolecule complexes. Solutions of adenosine nucleotides are prepared, and a series of [superscript 31]P NMR spectra are collected as a function of pH and in the absence and presence of magnesium or…

pH determination is an essential experiment in many chemistry laboratories. It requires a potentiometric instrument with extremely low input bias current to accurately measure the voltage between a pH sensing electrode and a reference electrode. In this technology report, we propose an open-source potentiometric instrument for pH determination…

In hydrostatics, pressure measurement with U-gauges and their relationship to density is a well-known experiment. Very little is studied or experimented with the dynamics of the movement of a liquid in a U-tube probably due to its theoretical complexity but, after all, it is a simple damped oscillating system. In this paper we present a relatively…

This laboratory experiment utilizes an exploration of the storage stability of beer to introduce basic aspects of electron-paramagnetic-resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Radicals formed upon aerobic forced-aging of beer samples are established by using a spin-trap. The students are introduced to basic principles of EPR spectroscopy and food and…

This two-part laboratory experiment is concerned with investigating key aspects of the Suzuki-- Miyaura cross-coupling reaction. The first part of this experiment utilizes high-throughput experimentation techniques to reinforce, explore, and extend fundamental concepts that are presented in the classroom. In contrast, the second part employs…

The MicRoboCop project introduces chemistry students to the concepts and protocols of synthetic biology. MicRoboCop is a biosensor that has been designed for unique applications in forensic chemistry. The lab is carried out in collaboration with an instructor teaching a genetics course. Students in the biology course synthesize biosensors using…