Flavor plays a crucial role and is the most important aspect of foods and beverages. [Beta]-Ionone is a common flavor compound with a characteristic violet-like odor. An undergraduate flavor compounds chemistry laboratory that provides preparation and characterization of the flavor compound inclusion complex between…

In this laboratory experiment, students apply a mass-based approach to determine the Henry's law constant for CO[subscript 2] using a small bottle of a diet carbonated beverage. The calculations are challenging; therefore, team-based learning is encouraged. Our students reported values of 0.033 ± 0.003 mol/(L[middle dot]atm) at room temperature…

One theme that both the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Research Council (NRC) agree pervades any science course (and specifically chemistry) is scale. Despite the fact that scale concepts and skills are at the core of a student's scientific literacy, scale or the skills related to understanding quantity…

The popularization of microcontrollers like Arduino bring new possibilities of experiments for physics laboratories. For instance, load cell sensors have been used in experiments on impulse and buoyancy. Here we propose an experimental apparatus using Arduino connected to a load cell to measure surface tension by the du Noüy method (or ring…

This laboratory experiment introduces students to an important reaction in biomass valorization and allows them to gain a practical understanding of green chemistry. Acid-catalyzed dehydration reactions of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and thus humins were performed both with and without aqueous solvent, along with two different catalysts…

This experiment provides students with a thorough understanding of electrolysis and the parameters that most greatly impact optimization of this process. In this laboratory exercise, students will focus on the anodization of bismuth metal to develop thin oxide films. When designing an electrolytic cell devoted to anodization, there are several…

4-"tert"-Butylcyclohexanol is rapidly converted to 4-"tert"-butylcyclohexanone with swimming pool bleach in a homogeneous reaction at room temperature. This process introduces students to a heterocyclic compound not normally discussed in the introductory course and has significant advantages over standard procedures using…

This paper describes a new lab experiment where students explore the magnetic force on a permanent magnet placed inside a short solenoid. This lab is the fourth experiment performed in the second semester of the calculus-based introductory physics course at Washington University in St. Louis. The experiment is performed using a speaker (which…

Due to the current trend of decreasing contact hours and less emphasis being given to the basic science courses in the pre-clinical years of medical education, it is essential that new approaches to teaching gross anatomy are investigated to ensure medical students are being adequately exposed to anatomical content. This study retrospectively…

The alternative human capital evaluation method proposed is implemented via two methods: principal component analysis and discriminant analysis. The first method classifies the research laboratory activities in homogeneous clusters, while the second method standardizes their scores. The proposed method is sitting in the activity-based management…

The reported project-based laboratory unit introduces upper-division undergraduate students to the basics of computer-aided drug discovery as a part of a computational chemistry laboratory course. The students learn to perform model binding of organic molecules (ligands) to the DNA minor groove with computer-aided drug discovery (CADD) tools. The…

Electrochemistry is primarily taught in first-year undergraduate courses through batteries; this lab focuses instead on corrosion to apply electrochemical concepts of electrolytes, standard reduction potentials, galvanic cells, and other chemistry concepts including Le Chatelier's Principle and Henry's Law. Students investigate galvanic corrosion…

Quantum dots (QDs) are useful for demonstrating the particle-in-a-box (PIB) model utilized in quantum chemistry, and can readily be applied to a discussion of both thermodynamics and kinetics in an undergraduate laboratory setting. Modifications of existing synthetic procedures were used to create QDs of different sizes and compositions (CdS…

The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss an alternative solution to an experimental problem given to high school students in the XXII Ibero-American Physics Olympiad held by Colombia this year. From the measurements of electric current and potential difference across a small tungsten filament lamp students should find the dimensions of…

This experiment prepares a large (M[subscript r]: 1821 g mol[superscript -1]) triple helicate complex quickly in one pot from inexpensive starting materials. The protocol illustrates the power of self-assembly in a simple manner that is suitable for second-year general chemistry students using reversible imine bond and metal-ligand bond formation.…