Medical, industrial, and basic research relies heavily on the use of viruses and vectors. Therefore, it is important that bioscience undergraduates learn the practicalities of handling viruses. Teaching practical virology in a student laboratory setup presents safety challenges, however. The aim of this article is to describe the design and…

This investigative laboratory activity engages students in observing, recording, graphing and analyzing pulsation rates in a commonly used laboratory organism, blackworms. This activity stresses how various drugs can impact the pulsation rate in blackworms at varying concentrations. In addition, we have incorporated two new ways to view the…

A remote-controlled experiment for power electronics was developed for a virtual laboratory. Power converter experiments were set up, allowing students to conduct a remote-controlled experiment with special hardware and electric power. Students can activate parameter controls, connect wires, and tune electric load conditions with preset electronic…

This paper presents a new way to demonstrate the principle behind mirages in air in the lab. The setup is simple and includes a modified laser illuminator that allows direct comparison between the deflected light rays and their straight path.

A laboratory experiment for the determination of the cross-linking density of silicone elastomers is described on the basis of swelling experiments and mechanical tests. In the experiment, the macroscopic swelling and mechanical behaviors of the elastomers were discussed as a function of the cross-linking density, which can be easily controlled by…

Flavor plays a crucial role and is the most important aspect of foods and beverages. [Beta]-Ionone is a common flavor compound with a characteristic violet-like odor. An undergraduate flavor compounds chemistry laboratory that provides preparation and characterization of the flavor compound inclusion complex between…

In this laboratory experiment, students apply a mass-based approach to determine the Henry's law constant for CO[subscript 2] using a small bottle of a diet carbonated beverage. The calculations are challenging; therefore, team-based learning is encouraged. Our students reported values of 0.033 ± 0.003 mol/(L[middle dot]atm) at room temperature…

One theme that both the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Research Council (NRC) agree pervades any science course (and specifically chemistry) is scale. Despite the fact that scale concepts and skills are at the core of a student's scientific literacy, scale or the skills related to understanding quantity…

The popularization of microcontrollers like Arduino bring new possibilities of experiments for physics laboratories. For instance, load cell sensors have been used in experiments on impulse and buoyancy. Here we propose an experimental apparatus using Arduino connected to a load cell to measure surface tension by the du Noüy method (or ring…

This laboratory experiment introduces students to an important reaction in biomass valorization and allows them to gain a practical understanding of green chemistry. Acid-catalyzed dehydration reactions of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and thus humins were performed both with and without aqueous solvent, along with two different catalysts…

This experiment provides students with a thorough understanding of electrolysis and the parameters that most greatly impact optimization of this process. In this laboratory exercise, students will focus on the anodization of bismuth metal to develop thin oxide films. When designing an electrolytic cell devoted to anodization, there are several…

4-"tert"-Butylcyclohexanol is rapidly converted to 4-"tert"-butylcyclohexanone with swimming pool bleach in a homogeneous reaction at room temperature. This process introduces students to a heterocyclic compound not normally discussed in the introductory course and has significant advantages over standard procedures using…

This paper describes a new lab experiment where students explore the magnetic force on a permanent magnet placed inside a short solenoid. This lab is the fourth experiment performed in the second semester of the calculus-based introductory physics course at Washington University in St. Louis. The experiment is performed using a speaker (which…

Due to the current trend of decreasing contact hours and less emphasis being given to the basic science courses in the pre-clinical years of medical education, it is essential that new approaches to teaching gross anatomy are investigated to ensure medical students are being adequately exposed to anatomical content. This study retrospectively…

The alternative human capital evaluation method proposed is implemented via two methods: principal component analysis and discriminant analysis. The first method classifies the research laboratory activities in homogeneous clusters, while the second method standardizes their scores. The proposed method is sitting in the activity-based management…