As part of a university-wide project to explore Shakespeare's classic play, "Romeo and Juliet," from a variety of perspectives, an interdisciplinary talk was presented to the university community on the chemistry of the potions and poisons referenced in "Romeo and Juliet." To draw the multidisciplinary audience in and to teach…

Our previous work correlated bond angles of group V and group VI hydrides (AH[subscript 3]E and AH[subscript 2]E[subscript 2], respectively, where E represents a lone electron pair) to the electronegativities of the atoms using the fraction of s character to relate the two. Here we have extended the correlation to the AH[subscript 2]X[subscript 2]…

Different models for the electronic structure of carbon monoxide are suggested in influential textbooks. Therefore, this electronic structure offers an interesting subject in teaching because it can be used as an example to relate seemingly conflicting concepts. Understanding the connections between ostensibly different methods and between…

The integrated absorbance areas of vibrational bands of CO[subscript 2], CO, and CH[subscript 4] gases in cigarette smoke were measured from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra to derive the partial pressures of these gases at different smoke times. The quantity of the three gas-phase components of cigarette smoke at different smoke times…

Background: Complex problem-solving competence is regarded as a key construct in science education. But due to the necessity of using interactive and intransparent assessment procedures, appropriate measures of the construct are rare. This paper consequently presents the development and validation of a computer-based problem-solving environment,…

This paper describes a mini-project developed with 10th grade Portuguese students where, by using an experimental activity involving the use of natural dyes to colour wool, students acquired a better understanding of the concepts and relationship between the colour, the electromagnetic spectrum, and chemical bonding. As demonstrated by the results…

Nanoscale science remains at the forefront of modern scientific endeavors. As such, students in chemistry need to be prepared to navigate the physical and chemical concepts that describe the unique phenomena observed at this scale. Current approaches to integrating nanoscale topics into undergraduate chemistry curricula range from the design of…

As an important subject in the curriculum, many students find chemistry concepts difficult to learn and understand. Chemical bonding especially is important in understanding the compositions of chemical compounds and related concepts and research has shown that students struggle with this concept. In this theoretical paper based on analysis of…

The main purpose of this study was to identify prospective chemistry teachers' mental models of vapor pressure. The study involved 85 students in the Chemistry Teacher Training Department of a state university in Turkey. Participants' mental models of vapor pressure were explored using a concept test that involved qualitative comparison tasks.…

The purpose of this study was to examine experienced chemistry teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for two different topics in chemistry to better understand how PCK is specific to topic, including whether all components of PCK are topic-specific and to what degree. To explore the topic-specific nature of PCK, we examined two experienced…

PROFILES is a project of teacher education and curriculum innovation funded by the FP7-programme of the European Union. The aim of PROFILES is implementing innovative science teaching practices incorporating a societal perspective and compassing inquiry-based science learning. The University of Bremen, Germany, as one of the partners, combines…

This study investigated the challenges students face when learning chemical reactions in a first-year chemistry course and the effectiveness of a curriculum and software implementation that was used to teach and assess student understanding of chemical reactions and equations. This study took place over a two year period in a public suburban…

The flame test is a classical analytical method that is often used to teach students how to identify specific metals. However, some universities in developing countries have difficulties acquiring the sophisticated instrumentation needed to demonstrate how to identify and quantify metals. In this context, a method was developed based on the flame…

A general chemistry laboratory experiment using readily available chemicals is described to introduce college students to an exciting class of nanocomposite materials. In a one-step room temperature synthetic process, magnetite nanoparticles are embedded onto activated carbon matrix. The resultant nanocomposite has been shown to combine the…

The aim of the study was to discover the contribution of students' interest in school biology, as well as their self-efficacy and attitudes towards different science subjects and mathematics when explaining students' orientation towards biology-related careers at upper-secondary school. The data of 321 K-11 students (49% women) were…