A relatively large number of organic and inorganic chemistry reagents are air- or moisture-sensitive, and undergraduate students should be trained in their use. When handling such reagents, it is important to select the correct syringe and to use that syringe correctly. We have found that the best syringe for use in an undergraduate setting is a…

This study assesses the impact of interactive learning environments and flipped classroom models on student engagement and learning outcomes in life sciences. We focused on the "Introduction to Laboratory Mice" course, utilizing the MITAKA SUPPLY Mimicky® Mouse model alongside IT tools like Google Classroom, Kahoot, Mentimeter, Quizizz,…

Practical activities are at the core of learning in both engineering and science education programs. Hence, such activities are included as important practical learning experiences in each of these fields. During such learning experiences students are confronted by many different entities, from simple equipment to advanced instrumentation, all of…

Integrating chemical management into a comprehensive emergency operations plan (EOP), including through the creation of a Toxic Materials Annex and a Hazardous Materials Annex, helps improve a school district's or individual school's preparedness for a chemical-related incident. To ensure the annexes remain relevant and useful, districts and…

The term "histology" was coined a little over 200 years ago and the subject has always relied on microscopy as its defining technology. Microscopy was and still is an essential approach for the description of cellular components and their arrangements in living organisms. For more than a century and a half, histology or microanatomy has…

This paper reports the quantification of Ca, Mg, and Fe as micronutrients in different vegetables (spinach, sugar beets, and carrots) from raw and processed samples. Simple extraction procedures, titrations, and spectrophotometric analysis were used to determine the amounts of micronutrients before and after cooking. From the obtained results, an…

Astronomy is one of the few sciences where the data (star-light) can be seen by all. Yet, there is a disconnect between a typical undergraduate lecture and, for example, where a planet may be in the sky and how to observe it. With the advent of moderate cost, high-quality 'back-garden' astronomy, and standard computers powerful enough to produce…

Cycloadditions in combination with multicomponent reactions are among the most valuable synthetic tools used by organic chemists to construct cyclic and heterocyclic compounds in a straightforward way. Although cycloadditions, such as the Diels--Alder reaction, are mainly covered in basic and advanced organic courses for undergraduate students,…

Many of the current synthetic methodologies utilized within academic and industrial laboratories require knowledge of how to safely handle air- and moisture-sensitive reagents and work under inert atmospheres. As a result, the ACS Committee on Professional Training recommends incorporating synthetic methods that make use of these inert atmospheres…

This paper uses the questionnaire to evaluate the current status of laboratory safety perceptions, willingness, and efforts of first-year undergraduates at the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology. The survey includes a sample size of 360 undergraduates covering four chemistry-related majors. The…

Low-dimensional materials especially graphene-based are of high interest to a broad community. One of the most fundamental aspects in the biomedical field is material characterization, which helps understand their property and tune for application. Though the existing teaching curricula are well standardized to include basic principles and…

Encouraging student engagement is a key aim in any educational setting, and allowing students the freedom to pursue their own methods of solving problems through independent experimentation has been shown to markedly improve this. In many contexts, however, allowing students this flexibility in their learning is hampered by constraints of the…

Many electroanalytical techniques utilize three-electrode systems consisting of reference, counter, and working electrodes. These electrodes are often expensive when purchased commercially, making low-cost alternatives a vital area of research. Cheaper alternatives have been proposed; however, they often require time-consuming assembly techniques…

The typical sound of George Lucas' laser blaster in the "Star Wars" series is well known. What does a laser blaster in "Star Wars" sound like, and why? Here we show a simple way to produce this sound by using low-cost lab material, like a spring or a Slinky. Building on the work of Crawford, who analyzed the sound of a Slinky…

A popular introductory physics laboratory experiment is one focusing on Snell's law. This is straightforward to complete with lasers and prisms, but here we present an alternative version that guides the students through some of the major historical developments, recreating and analyzing significant experiments. The discovery of Snell's law has a…