A single laboratory exercise in introductory physics that includes a bit of calculus, a little programming, some breadboard wiring, and making mathematical connections between motion, net force, and power provides a nice STEM experience for students. If you can add in a biomechanics component you hopefully have something that overall can be an…

Nowadays the majority of young people are exposed to a wide and constantly rising range of stimuli by different media. This sensory overload leads to higher stress levels and therefore decreases the ability to concentrate and focus. Laboratory work, however, requires high concentration in order to achieve reliable results under safe conditions.…

This paper was inspired by the work of a previous contributor on the subject of modelling plague epidemiology by comparing it to the physics of series radioactive decay, RC transients, and fluid dynamics. An Arduino-based experiment to illustrate the fluid-dynamical case is described. Attention is drawn to important differences between systems…

Physiology is commonly taught through direct experience and observation of scientific phenomena in "hands-on" practical laboratory classes. The value of such classes is limited by students' lack of understanding of the underlying theoretical concepts and their lack of confidence with the experimental techniques. In our experience,…

A computational laboratory experiment investigating molecular models for hexagonal boron-carbon-nitrogen sheets (h-BCN) was developed and employed in an upper-level undergraduate chemistry course. Students used the Avogadro user interface for molecular editing and the WebMO interface for the quantum computational workflow. Density functional…

Organic synthesis in a modern research laboratory uses state-of-the-art equipment to provide inert atmospheres, track reaction progress, and facilitate the purification of intermediates. Such facilities are not available in a high school laboratory. In this paper, synthetic organic chemistry is taken back to basics: A four step total synthesis of…

Herein we present a modified iodine clock experiment which replaces starch with cellulose paper. This provides the reaction with a white solid surface in which color change can be clearly observed and reduces reagent amounts required to 540 µL per group. After data acquisition, students are required to calculate reaction orders and the reaction…

In this article, we describe how the Gaussian Gun, a simple configuration of magnets and ball bearings, can be leveraged to connect ideas from physics to representations and ideas that are central to chemistry and challenging for students to learn. In particular, we show how the Gaussian Gun, an arrangement of ball bearings and magnets, models…

An integrated lab-lecture project, known as the mini research project, was developed for a medicinal chemistry course for nonscience majors. In the lecture component of this project, students choose a plant essential oil with documented biological activity and prepare a literature review describing the importance, history, and current use of the…

This work reports a rudimentary approach to teach and measure the kinetic friction coefficient using a smartphone that can effectively be employed for teaching purposes. More specifically, the kinetic friction coefficient, which is rather difficult to teach and measure, between various surfaces was determined by two different approaches using the…

This paper describes a faculty development project in which four teacher educators, who were part of a larger Faculty Learning Community, used an innovative model called the Faculty Learning Lab to support each other in critical reflections about their teaching. Within the learning lab, which was guided by Knowles' adult learning theory, each…

Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, supports its undergraduate education experience with the transformative Open Lab Model. The Open Lab seeks to embrace the university-industry partnership as a means for economic and workforce development.

The Kicking Mule Brewing Co. at West Point enables members of our chemical engineering club, students, and beer enthusiasts alike to acquire chemical engineering acumen, knowledge, and skills by developing a tangible product. Through a rigorous on-site brewing process with subject matter experts, our goal is enhancement of student chemical…

Statistical process control (SPC) is used in the chemical industry to monitor manufacturing and laboratory processes to ensure quality and compliance with regulatory requirements. Control charts are a key tool used in this monitoring. Industrial job postings desire experience with SPC. Most undergraduates entering the workforce have no exposure,…

The use of methanol-water mixtures as solvents for sample preparations is common in many instrumental analytical procedures for compound quantification at trace concentration levels. The reliability of the analytical method depends upon several factors including consistency of instrumental setup and calibration, quality of standards used and…