The electronic and molecular structure of the acylium cation ([CH[subscript 3]CO][superscript +], 1) receives varied treatment in undergraduate textbooks and online resources. The overall structure of 1 is typically represented as an equal combination of resonance structures containing C-O triple and double bonds, the latter structure occasionally…

The effectiveness of traditional face-to-face labs versus non-traditional online, remote, or distance labs is difficult to assess due to the lack of continuity in the literature between terminology, standard evaluation metrics, and the use of a wide variety non-traditional laboratory experience for online courses. This narrative review presents a…

The issue of girls' lack of connection to science has received much attention. Situated approaches such as research apprenticeships offer the chance to engage learners fully in science communities of practice and thus connect girls to science. However, such programs are often designed with lab settings, rather than field settings, in mind. This…

A multidisciplinary science experiment was performed in K-12 classrooms focusing on the interconnection between technology with geology and chemistry. The engagement and passion for science of over eight hundred students across twenty-one classrooms, utilizing a combination of hands-on activities using relationships between Earth and space rock…

Addressing the widely reported deficiencies in elementary teachers' competence in technology use and in inquiry-based science instruction, we present and assess a novel teaching experiment conducted in a university-school collaboration. Preservice elementary teachers planned and produced teaching videos in which they gave instructions on…

Online prelaboratory videos and quizzes were prepared for all experiments in CHEM 231, Organic Chemistry I Laboratory. It was anticipated that watching the videos would help students be better prepared for the laboratory, decrease their anxiety surrounding the laboratory, and increase their understanding of the theories and concepts presented.…

A series of quantitative studies investigated undergraduate students' perceptions of their cognitive and affective learning in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. To explore these quantitative findings, a qualitative research protocol was developed to characterize student learning in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. Students (N = 13)…

A course is described where students are engaged in an inquiry-based quarter-long research project to synthesize a known pharmaceutical target. Students use literature search engines, such as Reaxys and SciFinder, and the primary chemical literature as resources to plan and perform the synthesis of their pharmaceutical target. Through this…

Laboratory-based practical classes are a common feature of life science teaching, during which students learn how to perform experiments and generate/interpret data. Practical classes are typically instructional, concentrating on providing topic- and technique-specific skills, however to produce research-capable graduates it is also important to…

Sunscreens have different levels of protection, measured most commonly with the sun protection factor (SPF). Students initially believed higher SPF factors mean greater sun protection and learned through this activity that higher SPF does not mean greater protection. Students analyzed the amount of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) protection and…

Clinical evidence has shown that physical exercise during pregnancy may alter brain development and improve cognitive function of offspring. However, the mechanisms through which maternal exercise might promote such effects are not well understood. The present study examined levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and absolute cell…

Plants can store the chemical energy required by their developing offspring in the form of triglycerides. These lipids can be isolated from seeds and then converted into biodiesel through a transesterification reaction. This second-year undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory experiment exemplifies the conversion of an agricultural energy…

An experiment for the identification of synthetic polymers and copolymers by analytical pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) was developed and performed in the polymer analysis courses for third-year undergraduate students of chemistry with material sciences, and for first-year postgraduate students of polymer sciences. In…

An inexpensive apparatus and associated experiments are described for studying the basic laws of reflection and refraction of light at an air-glass interface, and multiple internal reflections within a glass block. In order to motivate students and encourage their active participation, a novel technique is described for determining the refractive…

The formation and the hydrolysis of organic salts produced by the titration of a 0.1 M solution of the following amines: methyl-, dimethyl-, trimethyl-, ethyl-, diethyl-, and triethylamine with a 0.1 M solution of acetic, chloroacetic, and dichloracetic acids are studied. The pK[subscript b] of the amine and the pH at the end point were determined…