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…

How to pedagogically integrate the four STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines is a main discussion issue in STEM education. Inquiry-based learning, mathematical modeling, and tool-based pedagogy could go hand in hand to provide a possible integrated STEM pedagogical framework for mathematics and science. This…

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…

Gold is an increasingly prominent transition metal in organic synthesis. The air-stable, water-insensitive cationic gold(I) catalysts enable varieties of synthetic transformations with a simple reaction setup. However, this increased importance has not coincided with an increase in the application of gold in second-year organic chemistry courses.…

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…

In this experiment, students are asked to conduct a catalytic cross-metathesis experiment and compare this reaction to the Wittig reaction within the confines of green chemistry. Students synthesize stilbene from styrene using Grubbs second-generation catalyst. Products can be minimally characterized by IR spectroscopy and melting point, but 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…

We investigate the motion of fidget spinners of different configurations with the help of simple devices. Physical quantities associated with the fidget spinner motion like angular speed, moment of inertia and kinetic energy are determined and compared in different configurations. A configurable modification of the fidget spinners is done to…

In the years 2015-2018, the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research and the Italian Ministry of Defense proposed the joint initiative "Space for Your Future. The ISS: Innovatio, Scientia, Sapientia" in partnership with the Italian Space Agency. It was a competition addressed to secondary school students and aimed at…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mandatory changes were required in the field of education, as in many other fields. One of these fields is a teacher training programme, which includes teaching practice. It has become of great importance that pre-service science teachers, who frequently include experiments in their teaching practices in face-to-face…

Background: Scientific thinking is an essential learning goal of science education and it can be fostered by inquiry learning. One important prerequisite for scientific thinking is procedural understanding. Procedural understanding is the knowledge about specific steps in scientific inquiry (e.g. formulating hypotheses, measuring dependent and…

At the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic surprised the world, affecting activities that promote attendance, including abruptly impacting the education area. Educational institutions, from preschool to university, were required to adopt alternative teaching methods to continue their activities. Distance learning has been adopted by educators…