Chemistry educators have a responsibility to teach students about the essential role the field of chemistry has in a sustainable future for the planet. Chemical products, such as pharmaceuticals, plastics, electronics, agrochemicals, and building materials, all benefit society yet unintended consequences resulting from the production and use of…

Creative thinking is needed in 21st century learning. This quantitative study aimed to determine whether chemistry education students at Universitas Jambi have the initial ability of creative thinking. The type of research that is used is a research design survey that is strengthened by the results of interviews to support the results of…

A microwave-promoted synthesis of a carbocyclic curcuminoid has been developed for the undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory curriculum. The experiment features several teaching points: A novel Knoevenagel iminium-mediated condensation forms a highly conjugated, intensely colored natural product. Reaction occurs uniquely at the less acidic…

Laboratory experiments that offer interdisciplinary experiences for students are appealing and are increasingly popular additions to undergraduate chemistry curricula. Students can capitalize on their knowledge of multiple areas of chemistry while working through an application, and this fosters the development of progressive problem-solving…

Enzyme kinetics is an essential topic in undergraduate Biochemistry courses. A laboratory work that covers the principal basic concepts of enzyme kinetics in steady state is presented. The alkaline phosphatase catalyzed reaction of phenyl-phosphate hydrolysis was studied as a model. The laboratory experience was designed to reinforce the concepts…

We describe four classical undergraduate physics experiments that were done with everyday objects and low-cost sensors: mechanical oscillations, transmittance of light through a slab of matter, beam deformation under load, and thermal relaxation due to heat loss. We used these experiments to train students for experimental homework projects but…

Identifying contingencies between constructs in a multi-faceted learning progression (LP) is a challenging task. Often, there is not enough evidence in the literature to support connections, and once identified, they are difficult to empirically test. Here, we use causal model search to evaluate how connections between ideas in a genetics LP…

Undergraduate laboratory exercises addressing aspects of cancer biology such as increased cell proliferation, gain-of-function signaling mutations and tumour formation often rely on tissue culture or even small mammal models. Many departments have limited or no access to these tools, and even well-equipped departments face logistical problems when…

Fusion energy research is 'mission oriented' big-science. It has both rapid progress and a reputation for being forever distant that excites many with a curiosity for science. However, it is difficult to give time to in lesson plans given both its lack of associated learning objectives and complexity. Outreach at the Fusion Centre for Doctoral…

A spreadsheet-based exercise for students is described in which they are challenged to explain and reproduce the disparate temperature dependencies of the heat capacities of gaseous F[subscript 2] and N[subscript 2]. For F[subscript 2], C[subscript p,m] increases from 300 K, reaches a maximum at 2200 K, and then decreases to 74% of the maximum…

Higher education is faced with the challenging problem of preparing students for their careers while developing them to be well-rounded, life-long learners. Employers report they desire candidates who use a broader set of skills and have higher levels of learning and knowledge to meet the increasingly complex demands of today's workplace. At…

The aim of this article is to present a set of simple exercises that help the students of a second course in quantum chemistry to understand that some molecular properties do not improve even when the molecular energy improves with an increasing number of basis functions in the expansion of the wavefunction. The essential idea is to create a…

We describe a 2 h general-chemistry experiment that introduces college students not only to the concepts, synthesis, and applications of nanomaterials at an early stage but also the use of a spectrophotometer for quantification and unknown determination based on Beer's Law. The procedure involves students (1) preparing a nanocomposite by…

In this article we consider the well-known demonstration of friction by two interleaved books. We consider a factor that has not been part of the popular explanation--atmospheric pressure. We provide three control experiments to demonstrate the role of atmospheric pressure in the two-book experiment and an additional simple demonstration of the…

Concept maps can be used in undergraduate biology as ways to visually communicate the relationships among things and events. One strength of concept mapping is that there is not just a single, correct way to compose one, given a list of particular concepts. Nevertheless there seem to be associations among ideas that are expressed frequently while…