The Vitamin C Clock Reaction has now been adapted to serve as a student laboratory experiment in the education process of high-school and college-level general chemistry. Despite of imparting valuable knowledge, it also may be hazardous, as the tincture of iodine contains inflammable substances that may cause burning on prolonged exposure.

An experiment is designed where students will be using both gold and silver nanoparticles to study the enhancement factors of organic molecules adsorbed to the surface of the nanoparticles during or after synthesis by using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The experiment has helped students learn about the theory and experimental…

Experiments suited for the undergraduate instructional laboratory in which the heats of formation of several aliphatic and aromatic compounds are calculated, are described. The experiments could be used to introduce students to commercially available computational chemistry and its thermodynamics, while assess and compare the energy content of…

We suggest the creation of a Global Web Laboratory (we call it "GloLab") for scientific purposes and teaching experiments online. In this article, we discuss the main principles and problems of building such a global Internet-laboratory. An example of a current working laboratory for teaching magnetism experiments online is also discussed.

Most introductory optics lab activities begin with students locating the real image formed by a converging lens. The method is simple and straightforward--students move a screen back and forth until the real image is in sharp focus on the screen. Students then draw a simple ray diagram to explain the observation using only two or three special…

Rats were runway trained with sequences of rewards that changed in 3 phases. In Phase 1 (24 days), the sequences were NP', SNP', and P'SNP' (n = 3), or NS', PNS', and S'PNS', where P and P' refer to 4 and 8 plain Noyes pellets, and S and S' are 4 and 8 sucrose pellets. N was a 30-s confinement in the goal without reward. In Phase 2 (14 days) the…

The environmentally focused general chemistry laboratory provides a format for teaching the concepts of the mainstream laboratory within an environmental context. The capstone integrated exercise emerged as the overwhelming favorite part of this laboratory and the experiment gave students an opportunity to do a self-directed project, using the…

A modified experimental procedure for the one-step synthesis that is suitable for the undergraduate organic lab is presented. In the course of work towards the more routine use of air-sensitive organometallic complexes such as the Grubb's catalyst, the natural product (E)-4-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl) but-2-en-ol, 4, was synthesized.

Dynamic NMR makes use of the effect of chemical exchanges on NMR spectra to study kinetics and thermodynamics. An advanced physical chemistry lab experiment was developed to study the intramolecular exchange processes of EDTA (the disodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) metal complexes. EDTA is an important chelating agent, used in…

Described are several organometallic experiments for the homogeneous hydrogenation of alkenes that could be used in schools. Procedures and expected results are detailed. (RH)

The attempts of scientists to detect the existence of the medium of ether are traced. (DT)

A SCIENCE UNIT ON ORGANIZATION IS PRESENTED. THE OBSERVATION AND CATEGORIZATION OF LIVING THINGS ARE EMPHASIZED. STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO GATHER SPECIMENS OF PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE AND TO LOOK FOR DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES AMONG THEM. THIS COLLECTING AND GROSS SORTING OF SPECIMENS ARE ENCOURAGED THROUGH LABORATORY EXERCISES. DATA SHEETS ARE USED…

Describes an experiment in which atomic diffusion in a solid is accompanied by a color change. (MLH)