Hands-on learning in a laboratory is an integral part of the undergraduate experience for chemistry students. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, an opportunity for this approach was not possible. The pandemic has been forcing instructors to explore the remote setting instead of the laboratory. There are several commercially…

Safe and high-quality water is essential from both the health and environmental perspectives. Water quality is so important that the United Nations has included water in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Thus, the adequate control and treatment of water are necessities. These tasks must be…

A modular experiment for upper-level undergraduate students is presented, featuring the product cycle and process evaluating the quality and quantity of biodiesel obtained from a microalgae feedstock grown under carbon-supplemented and nutrient-deprived conditions. Batch reactors are used to cultivate and harvest microalgae, which undergo…

The combination of organic synthesis and analytical chemistry into a related laboratory experiment is an excellent demonstration of the utility of making a compound to then be used further. Herein we describe an undergraduate laboratory experiment that involves the straightforward synthesis of an internal standard, ethyl 6-acetyloxyhexanoate, for…

We demonstrate that the simplicity of preparing functional microfluidic devices using 3D printing is well suited for undergraduate laboratories. Educational experiments utilizing non-paper-based microfluidic devices are often relegated to well-equipped, resource rich universities because traditional fabrication techniques require specialized and…

Connecting chemical concepts with real-world applications has been demonstrated to increase persistence, student attitudes, and performance. In a one-semester general chemistry course, most laboratory exercises were designed to have direct implications on real-world issues, and students were asked to consider these implications. Students blogged…

A safe, convenient, and environmentally benign laboratory experiment for the synthesis of biodiesel from six kinds of vegetable oils has been developed for the introductory organic chemistry laboratory. The experiment uses ultrasonic irradiation in the presence of a base catalyst at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Because of safer and…

To understand critical problems associated with solid waste and its consequences for the environment, a laboratory experiment is presented on the synthesis of aluminum-based metal-organic framework (MOF) MIL-53(Al) from household waste (PET bottles and aluminum foil/can), for undergraduate students of chemistry. This work is designed to teach…

A traditional classroom usually focuses on concepts from a specific discipline. However, solving complex real-world problems requires integration and application of knowledge from various fields. Here, we describe a 4-hr undergraduate-level laboratory exercise that utilizes concepts of extraction and biological property, bridging between chemistry…

Persistence is a major issue facing students, particularly those who are both female and from underrepresented ethnic minorities (URM). A closer look at the variables affecting their commitment and capacity for continuing the pursuit of their goal allows us to better design support systems that bolster persistence. This study tests a structural…

This report leverages state educational agency data to explore the association between Alabama Science in Motion (ASIM) implementation and student outcomes. We conducted this study in Alabama to evaluate the potential of teacher implementation of ASIM lab activities to improve high school level student achievement in science. This study follows a…

The goal of this study was to assess student's laboratory technique learning during online laboratories in response to the transition online caused by COVID-19. From Summer 2020 through Fall 2021 our General Chemistry 1 laboratories were completely online using at-home lab kits and 3 h weekly web conference sessions. Starting Spring 2021 select…

It is a commonly accepted notion that people take different approaches in learning. Although attention has been given to learning styles as one of the determinants of learning performance, there is are limitations to the inferential approach to understanding the impact of learning styles on learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is to…

We described a simple method for detection of Fe on a thread-based analytical device. Fe reacts with 1,10-phenanthroline to form a colored band on a cotton thread; the length was measured to quantify the contents of Fe using a ruler. This method has the advantages of easy operation, low cost, easy fabrication, and reduced sample/reagent…

Plant nitrogen nutrition is an essential topic in biology that should be included in scientific education. Nitrogen availability is one of the primary limiting factors for plant growth, and these organisms are the primary support for the pluricellular terrestrial life, since they are the fundamental group of autotrophs. For this reason, the use of…