In this paper, we present activities that help students deepen their understanding of basic electrostatics using an electroscope in combination with the photoelectric effect. The students investigate the behaviour of an isolated electroscope when the metal housing of the electroscope is charged. The activities follow the framework of the…

The catalytic hydrogenation of alkenes and alkynes is an important part of the undergraduate chemistry curriculum and is a fundamental process in chemical industry. Inquiry-based laboratory activities are presented that investigate the hydrogenation of alkynes on a nanoparticle palladium surface to form alkenes, which go on to form alkanes. Alkyne…

This comprehensive experiment is specially designed for the third-year and above students who are majoring in chemistry, applied chemistry, and chemical engineering. Students conduct experiments in groups, which are required to synthesize the CeO[subscript 2]-NiTiO[subscript 3]/attapulgite (ATTP) composite catalyst by the sol-gel method; the…

Thermal conductivity is generally the tool of choice for quantification of fixed gases, particularly lighter-than-air gases. Unfortunately, gas chromatography-thermal conductivity detectors (GC-TCDs) are difficult to introduce in first- and second-year chemistry courses where the cost and number of instruments, as well as the space required, is…

Properties of chemical substances drive a large portion of research in the sciences, but properties are very difficult to search in full text documents, and while searches in chemical information retrieval resources may help, the effective use of such resources may require considerable knowledge of the indexing and excerption policies in the…

Kinesthetic experiences in the classroom seek to engage students by muscle movement, touch, or some form of physical activity. In this article, I describe an active learning session wherein students develop a qualitative understanding of center of mass and support forces using their sense of touch. The set of activities detailed here is based on a…

The dynamics of a spring pendulum is an important topic in introductory experimental physics courses at universities and advanced science courses in secondary school education. Different types of pendulum setups with smartphones were proposed to investigate, e.g., the gravitational acceleration, to measure spring constants, or to illustrate and…

Herein we report the design of an upper-level hybrid laboratory course in the area of applied biopharmaceuticals, which has high scheduling flexibility, and utilizes both virtual and in-person educational elements to enhance students' learning experience. This newly developed course applies chemical engineering knowledge, practical and…

Creation of videos is one of the many ways faculty and teachers have had to cope with the limitations of teaching chemistry laboratory at this time of COVID-19 restrictions. In this communication, I describe ideas for videos generated by students in a class I taught entitled "Teaching of Biology". The students were required to interview…

Scientific modeling and coding are critical skills to be integrated into K-12 instruction. Research has shown that preservice teachers are often ill-prepared for teaching scientific modeling, and lack opportunities to learn coding within teacher education programs. The present study reports the implementation of an instructional module and online…

While synthesis projects are not uncommon in the undergraduate organic curriculum, the problems posed are usually not representative of what chemists actually do. The sudden dislocation to online learning precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic provided both a need and an opportunity to develop an organic synthesis project with greater relevance to…

Among the many decisions to be made in their teaching practice, physics teachers must decide how to explain each particular phenomenon to students. This study explores student teachers' ("STs") decision-making process when presented with several explanations of a physical phenomenon that might be used for teaching purposes. During…

With recent curricular movements aimed at engaging students in science practices, more work is needed regarding evidence-based approaches for supporting students in developing competency in contexts such as chemistry. In this work, we focus on student engagement in constructing models related to graphical representations of reaction rate. Using…

Lab courses are a significant component of biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB) education. In teaching the labs, we combine established techniques with novel approaches. Lab formats have also moved from traditional cookbook style labs to guided inquiry to course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), where faculty bring their own…

Biodiesel is an important biomass, largely employed in the transport sector and produced from vegetable oils. Additionally, waste cooking oils may be reused to produce biodiesel fuel, minimizing environmental pollution. A laboratory experiment that affords a widespread way to discuss degradation concepts and tools for used vegetable oil…