Active-learning pedagogies often require group work. We tested aspects of forming groups in a nonmajors Biology class. We asked whether large or small groups affected student learning outcomes and attitudes towards working in groups. We placed students in groups of three or six and students stayed in their groups for the term. We measured learning…

The study is an analysis of the reaction of students in a faculty of natural and agricultural sciences (NAS) to subtitles and also includes an investigation of their responses thereto. Reception of and responses to academic English (close to verbatim transcription), plain English, and keyword English subtitles were explored by showing participants…

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between students' adjustment to the academic learning process (academic adjustment) and motivation for learning science. The study was conducted with the participation of university students enrolled in science-related programs. A correlational research design was utilized in which data was…

The Brønsted-Lowry acid-base model is fundamental when discussing acid and base strength in organic chemistry as many of the reactions include a competing proton transfer reaction. This model requires evaluating chemical stability "via" a consideration of electronic granularity. The purpose of this study is to identify students' mental…

While elimination reactions are ubiquitous in organic chemistry textbooks, their implementation in undergraduate laboratories still suffers from a lack of reliable and easy setup procedures. This paper describes an easy-to-implement set of elimination experiments in the pentanol and bromopentane series using a modified Hickman distillation head.…

In this laboratory experiment, a guided inquiry exploring the physicochemical principles of the dissolution of Ca(OH)[subscript 2](s) in water is proposed for laboratory classes in university and high school. As part of students' inquiry, two experimental approaches are used. One is the change in solubility with temperature revealed by measuring…

The chemistry of 4d and 4f metals was investigated at the undergraduate level in an effort to incorporate f-element chemistry in the curriculum. This was accomplished through microwave-assisted synthesis of 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) coordination compounds [Eu(phen)(subscript 3)](PF[subscript 6])[subscript 3] and [Ru(phen)(subscript…

The yellow-blue color pair has been used in creative artwork such as paintings and designs and in color engineering. Herein we present a method for using the yellow-blue combination in a chemistry lesson dealing with [pi]-conjugated molecules for first-year undergraduate students who are not science majors. The lesson begins with an introduction…

This experiment demonstrates that copper(II) chloride dihydrate (CuCl[subscript 2]·2H[subscript 2]O) in different solvents (acetone, isopropyl alcohol, or water) displays divergent colors and visible-near IR spectra. Both the reactions of these solutions with 2 equiv of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and the direct solid-state reaction of CuCl[subscript…

Electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions are common in the organic chemistry laboratory. These reactions, while ubiquitous, use corrosive reagents and halogenated or hydrophobic solvents that produce expensive and hazardous waste streams. The carboxylation of phenols (Kolbe-Schmitt reaction), although aqueous, typically involves conditions…

Electrochemistry is taught in most undergraduate chemistry programs. Although this topic is important for students due to its broad interest in industry (energy, diagnostics, car industry, etc.), they often find it difficult, because it is based on a combination of various physical concepts such as electric fields, interfacial processes or charge…

The particle-in-a-box experiment is a well-known method used to teach quantum mechanics concepts in physical chemistry laboratories for undergraduates. The investigation involves measuring the wavelength at maximum absorbance ([lambda subscript max]) of electronic transitions in the UV-vis spectrum and linking it to the box length. As the…

Undergraduate students of a molecular cell biology laboratory class learn basic recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology by engaging in a Genomic Library Construction Project. Significantly, in this lab project students learn experimental design strategy. The challenge for students is to determine the strategy that they can take to efficiently screen for…

Immersive Virtual Reality (iVR) can help students visualise and explore complex chemical concepts, such as protein enzyme structures and interactions. We designed a set of collaborative iVR-based learning tasks on the interaction between a protein enzyme and its substrate. We investigated how 18 pairs (36 students) in undergraduate chemistry…

In this article, we discuss the replication of a forgotten chemical instrument in the context of undergraduate chemistry education. Together with students, we have attempted to replicate an eighteenth century "eudiometrical" procedure. Eudiometry was the practice of measuring the "goodness" of the air by looking at the volume…