pH determination and acid-base titrations are essential experiments performed by high school and university undergraduate students alike throughout their chemistry education. While these experiments often rely on conventional pH meters for quantification and pH test strips or indicators for qualitative assessments, we demonstrated herein that a…

Chemists have always designed and deployed cross-disciplinary approaches that interface chemistry with other disciplines to proffer solutions to many human problems. We designed a laboratory experiment that implements chemistry concepts in a biological model to prime undergraduate students to appreciate interdisciplinarity as an approach to…

This communication describes an updated experiment of peptide synthesis, involving determination of the loading capacity of a Fmoc-protected amino functionalized resin using UV-vis spectroscopy and a subsequent synthesis of a dipeptide in order to exemplify the experimental solid-phase synthesis procedure as an alternative technique in organic…

Structure--activity relationships are foundational concepts in biochemistry and drug design. Despite their importance, it can be difficult to create and execute laboratory activities that allow students to directly observe the interactions between small-molecule drugs and their biomolecular targets. Here, we report an activity that investigates…

Pharmaceutical Integrated Experiment (PIE) is a systematic and comprehensive compulsory course for undergraduates majoring in pharmacy and pharmaceutical engineering. This course mainly focuses on integrating the theoretical knowledge of various disciplines into practice, enabling students to master the key processes of drug research and…

Cycloadditions in combination with multicomponent reactions are among the most valuable synthetic tools used by organic chemists to construct cyclic and heterocyclic compounds in a straightforward way. Although cycloadditions, such as the Diels--Alder reaction, are mainly covered in basic and advanced organic courses for undergraduate students,…

Silver and its compounds have been widely used in experimental teaching, industrial production, and other fields. In these processes, a large amount of wastewater containing silver is usually produced, which might contribute to environmental pollution. Therefore, recycling silver from wastewater not only has good economic value but also meets the…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Instructional labs: Improving traditions and new directions.] This manuscript presents a case study of an introductory physics student who, during the remote learning conditions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, found inspiration within a new, open-inquiry, project-based, laboratory curriculum…

The aim of this study was to develop molecular genetics inquiry programs using the "eyes absent" gene of "Drosophila melanogaster." The program was composed of various molecular genetics experiments, including mutation observation, cross-breeding, searching for genetic information in web databases, gDNA extraction, and PCR.…

When thinking about measurement uncertainty in a laboratory experiment that features quantum mechanical effects, it is important to consider both the physical principles of underlying quantum theory (e.g., the uncertainty due to quantum mechanical superposition states) as well as the limitations of the measurement (e.g., the spread in outcomes due…

Some descriptions of learning represent the process as the development of organisations of elements. Various organisations have been proposed, for example, schemata and conceptual structures. Such representations assume that mental entities, such as concepts, are sufficiently stable and differentiated to be treated as units. We discuss these…

Xerogels, exemplified by silica gel, are substances formed by drying gels, resulting in a loss of their internal solvents. Understanding the production and properties of xerogels is crucial, owing to their widespread applications. Xerogel chemistry is widely utilized in several substances; therefore, understanding this chemistry is extremely…

There are many phenomena, interesting, simple experiments and effects, that await their in-depth explanation from the point of view of physics. Some of them have been well known for a long time but their numbers are increasing, especially with the introduction of new technology in everyday life. In this paper we consider a simple experiment that…

Due to immense cost reduction and routine commercial availability, 3D printing has become the cutting-edge technology with enormous potential--also for educational and applied chemistry. It opens the opportunity to print custom-made reactors, such as (micro) flow reactors. In addition, 3D-printing technology can simplify chemical reactions, such…

We have demonstrated both interference and diffraction of a pseudo-double slit using two glass plates with a width and a length of about 5 cm and a thickness of about 5 mm. The plates are attached at the upper and lower ends with Scotch tape of about 0.1 to 0.3 mm between the plates. By adjusting the angle between the two plates, we are able to…