Ethanol is the primary oxygenate in gasoline in the United States. Gasoline containing various percentages of ethanol is readily available in the market place. A laboratory experiment has been developed in which the percentage of ethanol in hexanes can easily be determined using the O-H and alkane C-H absorptions in an infrared spectrum. Standard…

The present study investigated the neural correlates of infant discrimination of very similar linguistic varieties (Quebecois and Parisian French) using functional Near InfraRed Spectroscopy. In line with previous behavioral and electrophysiological data, there was no evidence that 3-month-olds discriminated the two regional accents, whereas…

This paper discusses laboratory activities that can improve the meaningfulness of natural product chemistry course. These laboratory activities can be useful for students from many different disciplines including chemistry, pharmacy, and medicine. Students at the third-year undergraduate level of chemistry education undertake the project to…

The laboratory unit demonstrates a project based approach to teaching physical chemistry laboratory where upper-division undergraduates carry out a transient-absorption experiment investigating the kinetics of cis-trans isomerization of N,N-dimethyl-4,4'-azodianiline. Students participate in modification of a standard flash-photolysis spectrometer…

An integrated laboratory experiment applying concepts and techniques developed in organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and instrumental analysis is presented for use by students interested in undergraduate research. The experiment incorporates some advanced laboratory practices such as multistep organic synthesis and purification, detailed…

A laboratory experiment is described that introduces second-year undergraduate organic chemistry students to organic electronic materials. The discovery of metallic conductivity in the charge transfer salt tetrathiafulvalene tetracyanoquinodimethane (TTF-TCNQ) is a landmark result in the history of organic electronics. The charge transfer…

A variety of fruits and vegetables, including raspberries, blueberries, Concord grapes, blackberries, strawberries, peaches, eggplant, red cabbage, and red onions, contain flavonoid compounds known as anthocyanins that are responsible for the blue-red color and the astringent taste associated with such foods. In addition, anthocyanins exhibit a…

Two methods for the extraction of maltol from Fraser fir needles are performed and compared in this two-week experiment. A traditional benchtop extraction using dichloromethane is compared to a microwave-assisted extraction using aqueous ethanol. Students perform both procedures and weigh the merits of each technique. In doing so, students see a…

The "atoms first" philosophy, adopted by a growing number of General Chemistry textbook authors, places greater emphasis on atomic structure as a key to a deeper understanding of the field of chemistry. A pivotal concept needed to understand the behavior of atoms is the restriction of an atom's energy to specific allowed values. However,…

A [superscript 1]H NMR spectroscopy-based laboratory experiment explores mono- and disaccharide structural chemistry, and the enzyme-substrate specificity of glycosidic bond cleavage by ß-glucosidase towards cellobiose (ß-linked gluco-disaccharide) and maltose (a-linked gluco-disaccharide). Structural differences between cellobiose, maltose, and…

A "one-pot" method for acquiring kinetic data for the reactions of a series of substituted aromatic esters with potassium hydroxide using [supserscript 13]C NMR spectroscopy is described, which provides an efficient way to obtain sufficient data to demonstrate the Hammett equation in undergraduate laboratories. The method is…

A pedagogically useful discovery-based undergraduate organic chemistry lab experiment probing the chemo- and diastereoselectivity in the NaBH[subscript 4] reduction of two chiral ketoesters (benzoin acetate and benzoin benzoate) has been developed. This experiment complements a previously described and highly popular discovery-based experiment…

Energy drinks, as familiar consumer products, have been widely used in laboratory courses to help promote student interest, as well as to connect lecture concepts with laboratory work. Energy drinks contain B vitamins: pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and riboflavin (vitamin B2) of which amounts are high enough to be of concern. In this work, a fast and…

Lipid storage diseases, also known as the lipidoses, are a group of inherited metabolic disorders in which there is lipid accumulation in various cell types, including the central nervous system, because of the deficiency of a variety of enzymes. Over time, excessive storage can cause permanent cellular and tissue damage. The brain is particularly…

Though many undergraduates are interested in medicine, relatively few experiments related to drug design and development are included in introductory chemistry laboratory courses. In this experiment, aqueous solutions of four different drugs (acetaminophen, caffeine, phenacetin, and sulfanilamide) are extracted using 1-octanol, a mimic of the…