A student laboratory experiment to investigate the intrinsic and extrinsic bandgaps, dopant materials, and diode design in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is presented. The LED intrinsic bandgap is determined by passing a small constant current through the diode and recording the junction voltage variation with temperature. A second visible…

The strongly exothermic nature of reactions between molecular oxygen and all organic molecules as well as many other substances is explained in simple, general terms. The double bond in O[subscript 2] is much weaker than other double bonds or pairs of single bonds, and therefore the formation of the stronger bonds in CO[subscript 2] and…

Recently, I was tasked with the creation and execution of a new themed general education physics class called The Physics of Warfare. In the past, I had used the theme of a class, such as the physics of sports medicine, as a way to create homework and in-class activities, generate discussions, and provide an application to demonstrate that physics…

This two-period undergraduate laboratory experiment involves the synthesis of a mixture of isomeric unknowns, isolation of the mixture by means of distillation, and characterization of the two products primarily by NMR spectroscopy (1D and 2D) supported with IR spectroscopy and GC-MS techniques. Subsequent calculation and examination of the…

Computational tools and methods have permeated multiple science and engineering disciplines, because they enable scientists and engineers to process large amounts of data, represent abstract phenomena, and to model and simulate complex concepts. In order to prepare future engineers with the ability to use computational tools in the context of…

While many university students take science courses in multiple disciplines, little is known about how they perceive common concepts from different disciplinary perspectives. Structure-property and structure-function relationships have long been considered important explanatory concepts in the disciplines of chemistry and biology, respectively.…

Change over time is a crosscutting theme in the sciences that is pivotal to reaction kinetics, an anchoring concept in undergraduate chemistry, and students' struggles with rates of change are well-documented. Informed by the education scholarship in chemistry, physics, and mathematics, a research team with members from complementary disciplinary…

This lab experiment uses [superscript 31]P NMR spectroscopy of biomolecules to determine pK[subscript a] values and the binding energies of metal/biomolecule complexes. Solutions of adenosine nucleotides are prepared, and a series of [superscript 31]P NMR spectra are collected as a function of pH and in the absence and presence of magnesium or…

This experiment is dedicated to second-year and above undergraduates who are in their experimental session of the analytical chemistry course. Grouped students are required to use a TiO[subscript 2] photocatalytic oxidation process to treat the methanol-containing wastewater that resulted from their previous HPLC experiments. Students learn to…

Universities have a long-established tradition of granting students special consideration when circumstances beyond their control negatively affect performance in assessments. Typically, such situations affect only one student (e.g. medical emergencies) but we consider the impact of a natural disaster that led to all students being eligible for…

This article examines the ways that a shared faculty experience across five partner institutions led to a deep awareness of the curriculum and pedagogy of general chemistry coursework, and ultimately, to a collaborative action plan for student success. The team identified key differences and similarities in course content and instructional…

The "Yet Another extended Hu¨ckel Molecular Orbital Package" (YAeHMOP) has been merged with the Avogadro open-source molecular editor and visualizer. It is now possible to perform YAeHMOP calculations directly from the Avogadro graphical user interface for materials that are periodic in one, two, or three dimensions, and to visualize…

The analysis of spectroscopic data to solve chemical structures requires practical skills and drills. In this context, we have developed ULg Spectra, a computer-based tool designed to improve the ability of learners to perform complex reasoning. The identification of organic chemical compounds involves gathering and interpreting complementary…

pH determination is an essential experiment in many chemistry laboratories. It requires a potentiometric instrument with extremely low input bias current to accurately measure the voltage between a pH sensing electrode and a reference electrode. In this technology report, we propose an open-source potentiometric instrument for pH determination…

In hydrostatics, pressure measurement with U-gauges and their relationship to density is a well-known experiment. Very little is studied or experimented with the dynamics of the movement of a liquid in a U-tube probably due to its theoretical complexity but, after all, it is a simple damped oscillating system. In this paper we present a relatively…