The reaction rate and rate law are chemical kinetics concepts that undergraduate students have difficulty understanding and applying in real life. A further challenge is the overall reaction rate of consecutive reactions. Herein we present a creative teaching practice using the analogy-based approach to exploit the similarities between the…

In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, instructors across the world faced the uncertainty and challenge of retaining student engagement after transitioning from face-to-face to emergency remote instruction. Yet, few studies have evaluated student interest and motivation in the various learning formats during emergency remote learning…

Circular dichroism (CD) is the differential absorption of left and right circularly polarized light. It arises from molecular electron oscillations that are driven by both the light's electric and magnetic fields, where the effects are in phase for one circular polarization and out of phase for the other. We describe these interactions, which have…

In recent months, universities around the world have been forced to cancel courses and close their doors due to the growing coronavirus epidemic. Following the government's precautions, Algerian students were bound to quarantine regulations for their safety. Thus, they unexpectedly switched to online learning instead of face-to-face learning. Our…

A set of inexpensive and pedagogically rich experiments focusing on S[subscript N]1, E1, and E2 reactions have been updated to include modern computational and spectroscopic analyses. The S[subscript N]1 experiment involves treatment of "tert"-amyl alcohol with hydrochloric acid to generate the corresponding alkyl chloride, which is used…

This article illustrates the use of Microsoft OneNote as an Electronic Notebook for undergraduate biochemistry lab reports as well as student opinions of this use both before and during the online coursework shift during the pandemic.

In high school and elementary college physics labs the measurement of vertical distance is often required. Measuring the distance an object falls or the vertical displacement of springs in a Hooke's law experiment are commonplace. Determining these distances to perhaps a millimeter or two of precision is difficult without an expensive height gauge…

The idea of the interaction between genes and environment in the formation of traits is an important component of genetic literacy, because it explains the plastic nature of phenotypes. However, most studies in genetics education characterize challenges in understanding and reasoning about genetic phenomena that do not involve modulation by the…

Arduino microcontrollers are becoming increasingly popular in the physics/astronomy community. These devices can provide more in-depth labs on mechanics, electricity and magnetism, light and optics, etc., in addition to programming. These devices can be readily utilized to reach more non-physics/astronomy majors and underrepresented STEM students.…

Providing students with training in advanced laboratory skills is an essential part of scientific education. At the same time, engaging students in research is becoming equally important. Classroom-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have emerged to fill this need, and can take many forms. In this article we describe reengineering an…

In this paper, we present three types of activity that we have observed during students' free exploration of a software called "Algodoo," which allows students to explore a range of physics phenomena within the same digital learning environment. We discuss how, by responding to any of the three activity types we identify in the students'…

The catalytic hydrogenation of alkenes and alkynes is an important part of the undergraduate chemistry curriculum and is a fundamental process in chemical industry. Inquiry-based laboratory activities are presented that investigate the hydrogenation of alkynes on a nanoparticle palladium surface to form alkenes, which go on to form alkanes. Alkyne…

This comprehensive experiment is specially designed for the third-year and above students who are majoring in chemistry, applied chemistry, and chemical engineering. Students conduct experiments in groups, which are required to synthesize the CeO[subscript 2]-NiTiO[subscript 3]/attapulgite (ATTP) composite catalyst by the sol-gel method; the…

Thermal conductivity is generally the tool of choice for quantification of fixed gases, particularly lighter-than-air gases. Unfortunately, gas chromatography-thermal conductivity detectors (GC-TCDs) are difficult to introduce in first- and second-year chemistry courses where the cost and number of instruments, as well as the space required, is…

Properties of chemical substances drive a large portion of research in the sciences, but properties are very difficult to search in full text documents, and while searches in chemical information retrieval resources may help, the effective use of such resources may require considerable knowledge of the indexing and excerption policies in the…