Uses a compact disc (CD) as a grating in spectroscopy experiments. Suggests using the CD with fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent light bulbs, incandescent filament light bulbs, and sodium and mercury vapor lamps. Discusses environmental and economic aspects of fluorescent lighting. (MVL)

Describes a set of experiments using a UV-VIS spectrometer to identify food colorings and to measure the pH of soft drinks. The first laboratory component uses locations and shapes of visible absorption peaks as a means of identifying dyes while the second portion uses the spectrometer for determining pH. (PVD)

Describes a general chemistry experiment that is carried out in sunlight to illustrate the ability of TiO2 to act as a photocatalyst by mineralizing an organic dye into carbon dioxide. Details about the construction of the reactor system used to perform this experiment are included. (DDR)

Describes an inquiry-based cooperative activity designed to give students a sense of the connection between stellar spectra and temperature. (WRM)

An experiment developed from the Advanced Integrated Environmental Laboratory illustrates the differences in automobile exhaust before and after the engine is warmed, using gas-phase Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The apparatus consists of an Avatar 360 FTIR spectrometer from Nicolet fitted with a variable path length gas cell,…

A real-life analytical assignment is presented to students, who had to examine an air conditioning coolant solution for metal contamination using an atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). This hands-on access to a real problem exposed the undergraduate students to the mechanism of AAS, and promoted participation in a simulated industrial activity.

A simple, qualitative experiment is developed for implementation, where the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) plays an important role, into the laboratory curriculum of a chemistry course designed for nonscience majors. This laboratory experiment is well suited for the students as it helps them to determine the validity of their…

Quantification of a contaminant in water provides the first-year general chemistry students with a tangible application of mass spectrometry. The relevance of chemistry to assessing and solving environmental problems is highlighted for students when they perform mass spectroscopy experiments.

Objective: Although abnormalities of neural circuits involving the cortex, striatum, and thalamus are hypothesized to underlie Tourette's disorder, the neuronal abnormalities within components of these circuits are unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the cellular neurochemistry within these circuits in Tourette's disorder using…

A study uses nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in a novel way to determine the isotopic ration between [to the tenth power]B and [to the eleventh power]B in sodium borohydride (NaBH4). The experiment provides an unusual and relatively simple means for undergraduate chemistry students to accurately measure the distribution of the two…

A discovery-oriented lab experiment is developed that illustrates the chemoselective nature of reductions using sodium borohydride. Products are of sufficient purity to allow analysis by spectroscopy without further purification.

Chemical reactions induced by light have been utilized for synthesizing highly strained, thermodynamically unstable compounds, which are inaccessible through non-photochemical methods. Photochemical cycloaddition reactions, especially those leading to the formation of four-membered rings, constitute a convenient route to compounds that are…

Qualitative analysis schemes are used in undergraduate laboratory settings as a way to introduce equilibrium concepts and logical thinking. The main component of all qualitative analysis schemes is a flame test, as the color of light emitted from certain elements is distinctive and a flame photometer or spectrophotometer in each laboratory is…

A hearing was held on Senate Bill 335, the Emerging Telecommunications Technologies Act of 1993, a bill that requires the federal government to transfer 200 megahertz of spectrum to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for new technologies. Integral to this measure, a bipartisan effort, is a provision that will allow the FCC to use…

Describes an undergraduate physical chemistry experiment in which a low cost spectrofluorimeter is used to carry out elementary emission measurements on a transition metal complex. The students measure uncorrected emission and excitation spectra, and determine the rate constant for an exceedingly fast bimolecular reaction, the deactivation of an…