There has been an increase in the use of virtual reality (VR) technology in the education community since VR is emerging as a potent educational tool that offers students with a rich source of educational material and makes learning exciting and interactive. With a rise of popularity and market expansion in VR technology in the past few years, a…

U.S. higher education attracts many international graduate students--particularly those from China today where many of them become international teaching assistants (ITAs) in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, which not only benefits the students, but also our country as a whole. However, unfortunately, the issue of the…

Integration of technology, social learning and scientific models offers pedagogical opportunities for science education. A particularly interesting area is thermal science, where students often struggle with abstract concepts, such as heat. In taking on this conceptual obstacle, we explore how hand-held infrared (IR) visualization technology can…

We present a practical activity focusing on two main goals: to give learners the opportunity to experience how the scientific method works and to increase their knowledge about enzymes in everyday situations. The exercise consists of determining the amylase activity of commercial detergents. The methodology is based on a qualitative assay using a…

Analysis of mercury in fish is an interesting problem with the potential to motivate students in chemistry laboratory courses. The recommended method for mercury analysis in fish is cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy (CVAAS), which requires homogeneous analyte solutions, typically prepared by acid digestion. Previously published digestion…

In the typical "cookbook" experiment comparing the radiation absorption rates of different colored surfaces, students' hands are commonly used as a measurement instrument to demonstrate that dull black and silvery surfaces are good and poor absorbers of radiation, respectively. However, college students are often skeptical about using…

A simple photometric assembly based in an LED as a light source and a photodiode as a detector is proposed in order to follow the absorbance changes as a function of the titrant volume added during the course of acid-base titrations in the presence of a suitable visual indicator. The simplicity and low cost of the electronic device allow the…

An adaptable multistep synthesis project designed for the culmination of a second-year organic chemistry laboratory course is described. The target compound is a terphenyl derivative that is an intermediate in the synthesis of compounds used in organic light-emitting devices. Students react a conjugated diene with dimethylacetylene dicarboxylate…

We have developed a multiweek laboratory project in which students isolate myoglobin and characterize its structure, function, and redox state. The important laboratory techniques covered in this project include size-exclusion chromatography, electrophoresis, spectrophotometric titration, and FTIR spectroscopy. Regarding protein structure,…

Background: We have developed several interactive virtual laboratories (IVLs) based on a sequence of agent-based molecular simulations designed to target specific threshold concepts to help students learn thermodynamics. We previously analyzed learning in the IVLs from a cognitive perspective, seeking to repair students' misconceptions; however,…

A reference electrode is an essential component of all three-electrode electrochemical measurements. Common commercial reference electrodes, including the saturated calomel electrode and Ag/AgCl reference electrode, are expensive with the former containing toxic mercury. Cheaper alternatives have been proposed including Ag/AgCl references made…

A novel laboratory curriculum is presented, developed around some common tasks of a laboratory researcher in chemistry: purification, synthesis, and measurement. The capstone of the sequence is an integrated laboratory, leading to a more independent research experience. Students who have completed this laboratory curriculum appear to perform…

The study of buoyancy becomes very interesting when we measure the apparent weight of the body and the liquid vessel weight. In this paper, we propose an experimental apparatus that measures both the forces mentioned before as a function of the depth that a cylinder is sunk into the water. It is done using two load cells connected to an Arduino.…

Surface modification has been considered as a fundamental item in upper-division undergraduate and master courses. Thus, the development of experiments regarding processes and characterization of surface-modification phenomena is highly desired. In this article, we propose an electrochemical and computational study of widely used…

Molecular symmetry plays a central role in chemistry education with regard to predicting chemical properties such as bonding and spectroscopic transitions. Better understanding of the symmetry of molecules requires high visual-spatial thinking ability. Conventional teaching methodologies, with limited teaching aides, fall short in providing a…