The field of DNA nanotechnology has grown rapidly in the past decade and has expanded to multiple laboratories. While lectures in DNA nanotechnology have been introduced in some institutions, laboratory components at the undergraduate level are still lacking. Undergraduate students predominantly learn about DNA nanotechnology through their…

Ultrafast laser pump-probe spectroscopy is an important and growing field of physical chemistry that allows the measurement of chemical dynamics on their natural time scales, but undergraduate laboratory courses lack examples of such spectroscopy and the interpretation of the dynamics that occur. Here we develop and implement an ultrafast…

Metal-air battery technology is a promising new energy storage solution in the green energy economy but also an excellent tool to educate students on the working principles of batteries. A simple yet powerful construction of a metal-air battery is shown, which consists of a plastic mint box, a cathode, an anode, and an electrolyte. Furthermore,…

The development of an enzyme-mediated reaction for the first-year general, organic, and biological chemistry (GOB) teaching laboratory is of significant importance so that the factors that affect enzyme-mediated reactions can be adequately demonstrated, reinforcing the lecture portion of the GOB course. Some of the factors that affect these types…

This laboratory experiment introduces the fundamentals of electrochemical techniques to the undergraduate students by developing a simple and cost-effective miniaturized electrochemical setup for detecting UV-induced DNA damage. This is an imperative experiment, as it provides students first-hand experience with electrochemical techniques while…

Mass spectrometers are ever-increasingly powerful, user-friendly, and affordable. Thus, the addition of mass spectrometry experiments into the undergraduate laboratory curriculum is now both feasible and an effective tool to introduce students to relevant instrumentation. Here an experiment demonstrating the use of a high-resolution electrospray…

Experiments written for students who were quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic are described. These were developed to provide hands-on lab experiences that students would not get due to the online nature of course offerings during the crisis. The laboratories described include an extraction and oxidation of aldehydes from food items, a study…

Given student familiarity with electronic cigarettes (e-cigs), this lab uses a student-built smoke collection apparatus to collect e-cig vapors to teach students about gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Students in a second semester, introductory organic chemistry course spent 1 week collecting e-cig vapors and 1 week qualitatively…

In the light of own measurements on a Faraday generator, the well-known theories concerning Unipolar Induction and the Faraday paradox seem to be problematic. On the other hand, all results obtained, and all other processes described as a paradox in connection with the Faraday generator can be explained without contradiction based on the theory of…

Two balls on an incline can remain at rest if friction between the balls prevents them rolling down the incline. Results with various balls are presented to show how ball mass, diameter and friction affects the outcome. A stack of four identical balls is also examined.

A standard physics experiment for students is to measure the terminal velocity of an object in air or in glycerine. A more difficult challenge is to measure the terminal velocity in water since the depth of the water needs to be large or the object needs to be dropped in the water at a speed close to its terminal velocity. Results obtained by…

One step of the published mechanism of the hydrogen peroxide iodine-clock reaction is called into question by the result of an experimental attempt (predicated on that mechanism) to integrate that reaction into the elephant's toothpaste demonstration to reveal and control its iodine side product. Under conditions that were a hybrid of those…

Carbonated beverages have long provided chemical educators and other teachers of science with an easy-to-obtain system that connects to several physicochemical concepts. For example, many educators have devised experiments to determine the pressure of CO[subscript 2] contained in commercial carbonated beverages, but the role of temperature in such…

In this paper we consider the well-known experiment with the 'heavy' newspaper that breaks a stick that it is laid on. Using several appropriate control experiments we show that the currently invoked explanation using atmospheric pressure cannot be correct. We perform a theoretical analysis and propose a new explanation based on the rotational…

This paper introduces a safe, interesting, convenient, and low-cost experiment. The products of galvanic cells and electrolytic cells are compressed into specimens that are placed on a slide to stretch the metal dendrites in one plane and ensure they are not easily destroyed by external factors. The details and growth process of the metal…