Here, we present a laboratory activity in which the students work on an analysis of a questioned document that was written with one out of five possible pens. As a forensics study, the activity applied chemistry and analytical chemistry tools to solve the case. The students were able to apply polarity and solubility concepts to select and discard…

A new experiment using laser ablation with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was designed for chemistry undergraduate students. While most analytical methods only provide information on the amount of the analyte, LA-ICP-MS allows extra information on the distribution of the element in the sample. Because it achieves…

The simple demonstration presented, herein, involves the combustion of acetylene liberated from the rapid hydrolysis of 0.50 g of calcium carbide. The unsaturated hydrocarbon formed burns with a yellow sooty flame in air. This acetylene-air flame being visually attractive is often misused by those attempting to showcase their illusory magical…

Tofu, a traditional Chinese food, is now popular worldwide. However, few people notice the chemistry that is involved in its production. To shed light on this, we have designed a simple demonstration for lower-level undergraduates in organic chemistry or biochemistry courses to help them understand the chemistry principles that underlie the…

To remain competitive in an innovative world, American classrooms are promoting careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by utilizing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Students are engaged in inquiry by applying scientific practices like argumentation. However, science teachers are finding it difficult to…

Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic when teachers might have found or created videos for students to watch, flipped classroom methodology has interested many secondary-level chemistry teachers. However, as the secondary coauthor teachers here found, most of the research on the effectiveness of flipped classroom methodology has been performed at…

An adipic acid esterification experiment suitable for graduate students has been developed to describe the industrial manufacture of plasticizers. Students first follow the progress of the reaction with simple acid/base titration enabling measurement of the acid number. During the workup of the reaction mixture, they learn how to manage the…

Reported herein is a chemistry experiment integrating polymer chemistry and instrumental analysis for the juniors majoring in chemistry. This experiment has a different scheduling framework than traditional experiments with a fixed lab period and schedule. The students arrange their experiment flexibly and individually. Styrene maleic anhydride…

Laboratory experiments provide training to students in experimental techniques and strengthen the understanding of the theory. Herein, a new introductory experiment for organic chemistry laboratory courses is described where students are trained in washing an unknown neutral organic compound using liquid/liquid extraction, isolating it via…

The analysis of functional groups in organic compounds and inorganic ions in salts is a laboratory experiment that forms an inevitable part of the undergraduate chemistry curriculum in the science field all over the world. With this experiment, the student learns the testing techniques for the chemicals and gets a true sense of the importance of…

A simple method to determine Lewis electron dot structures and formal charges without a need to sum all of the valence electrons, reorganize electron pairs, draw and pair up individual electrons, or remember a formal charge formula is described. The formal charge is determined by the group number (number of valence electrons) and the number of…

The photoelectric effect consists of electrons emerging from the region near the inner surface of a metallic solid toward the outside vacuum, when the metal surface is illuminated. The effect depends on the frequency of the light waves and the properties of the metal surface. In particular, a minimum or "threshold" frequency of light is…

The eye should have a particular focal length in order to see an object. As there are many things to see, the focal length of the eye must vary because these things are not all at the same distance from the eye. We explore the eye accommodation from a geometrical optics point of view and present our results in this paper; the study includes a…

There is a close connection between simple harmonic motion and uniform circular motion. This connection is widely taught and included in standard textbooks. Here, we exploit this connection to simultaneously derive two results from introductory mechanics: the period of a mass-spring system and the centripetal acceleration formula. Previously…

This study aimed to explore what kinds of epistemological messages were conveyed through teacher discourse in modeling-based and traditional elementary science classrooms and how teachers framed the two classrooms distinctively through these messages. Data came from two sixth-grade teachers' science classrooms--one characterized as a…