PQcalc is an online calculator designed to support students in college-level science classes. Unlike a pocket calculator, PQcalc allows students to set up problems within the calculator just as one would on paper. This includes using proper units and naming quantities strategically in a way that helps finding the solution. Results of calculations…

Many active learning pedagogies depend on students' preparing for class in advance. One common method for holding students accountable for this preparation is the use of reading quizzes. When used thoughtfully, reading quizzes can also actually promote student learning through the testing effect. In this article we describe why and how we use…

Qualitative questions are proposed to assess the understanding of solubility and some of its applications. To improve those results, a simple quantitative problem on the precipitation of proteins is proposed.

This article demonstrates how to make a low-cost ethanol burner utilizing soda cans. It burns with a light blue flame suitable for out-of-laboratory flame test demonstrations where interference from a yellow flame needs to be avoided.

A simple photometric assembly based in an LED as a light source and a photodiode as a detector is proposed in order to follow the absorbance changes as a function of the titrant volume added during the course of acid-base titrations in the presence of a suitable visual indicator. The simplicity and low cost of the electronic device allow the…

In the Just-in-Time Teaching approach, a faculty member assigns readings to students before every class. After the students have done the daily reading, they access a short reading quiz using a course management system (e.g., Moodle). The faculty member uses student responses to the quiz in the preparation of the day's class material and is able…

In this reply to Elon Langbeheim's response to an article recently published in this journal, authors Smith and Villarreal identify several types of general chemistry students' misconceptions concerning the concept of particle position during physical change. They focus their response on one of the misconceptions identified as such: Given a solid…

An adaptable multistep synthesis project designed for the culmination of a second-year organic chemistry laboratory course is described. The target compound is a terphenyl derivative that is an intermediate in the synthesis of compounds used in organic light-emitting devices. Students react a conjugated diene with dimethylacetylene dicarboxylate…

The purpose of this article is to analyse the professional and creative development of natural geographic course teachers of the Republic of Tatarstan in the process of professional retraining. The method for work performing is a retrospective analysis of professional retraining of natural geographic course teachers within the higher professional…

The purpose of this study was to determine the metacognitive skill levels and motivation of preservice chemistry teachers and to investigate the effect of different metacognitive skill levels on their motivation. The study was conducted during 2014-2015 spring semester. In this research, survey method was used to reveal the effect of different…

Most laboratory activities conducted by students involve measurement, and measurement can only be as precise as the instrument with which it is made. When Julia Metz began her teaching career, she assumed most of the 10th grade chemistry students would have previously used common measuring devices such as metric rulers, graduated cylinders,…

Adsorption studies of salicylic acid (SA) and 4-nitroaniline (4NA) from aqueous solutions were performed with magnetic biochar (MBC) in order to train students in analytical techniques such as standard calibration curves, UV-vis spectrophotometry, and chemical separations within the context of wastewater purification. Analysis of samples purified…

In recent years, researchers have shown an interest in understanding students' own ideas about basic chemical principles and guiding them through innovative ways to gain conceptual understanding where necessary. This research was a case study designed to assess 50 first year high school students' conceptual understanding about changes in matter,…

With more than 20 years of history, the Tournament of Young Chemists is an innovative, cross-disciplinary competition that promulgates the everyday life of scientists into the classrooms and on the contest stage. Original, open-type problems, unrestricted access to scientific data sources, and personal interaction with researchers from different…

A synthesis of the "R,R"-tartrate salt of the popular anti-Parkinson's drug "R"-rasagiline (Azilect) was adapted to introduce the organic laboratory student to a medically relevant synthesis. It makes use of concepts found in the undergraduate organic chemistry curriculum, appropriately fits into three approximately 4 h lab…