We adapted a classical asymmetric Michael addition for a 1 day experimental session (6-8 h) for third- or fourth-year undergraduate students. The experiment contains three steps: synthesis of a chiral Lewis acid, LiAl((S)-BINOL)[subscript 2], then its use as a catalyst in the Michael addition of diethyl malonate on cyclopentenone, followed by…

A standard physics experiment for students is to measure the terminal velocity of an object in air or in glycerine. A more difficult challenge is to measure the terminal velocity in water since the depth of the water needs to be large or the object needs to be dropped in the water at a speed close to its terminal velocity. Results obtained by…

Carbonated beverages have long provided chemical educators and other teachers of science with an easy-to-obtain system that connects to several physicochemical concepts. For example, many educators have devised experiments to determine the pressure of CO[subscript 2] contained in commercial carbonated beverages, but the role of temperature in such…

Why do we need to pour less water in an egg steamer to prepare more eggs to the same degree of 'doneness'? We discuss the physical processes at work in the electric egg steamer and resolve this seeming paradox. We demonstrate that the main heat transfer mechanism from steam to egg is due to latent heat through condensation. This not only explains…

Elemental analysis is performed in a variety of ways in food and environmental sciences; thus, we have designed an activity in which students gain experience with research-level lab techniques in a real-world context through the quantification of key elements in breakfast cereals using microwave plasma optical emission spectroscopy (MP-OES). The…

A problem-solving experiment is a learning activity that uses experimental design to solve an authentic problem. It combines two evidence-based teaching strategies: problem-based learning and inquiry-based learning. The use of problem-based learning and scientific inquiry as an effective pedagogical tool in the science classroom has been well…

In an upper-division interdisciplinary laboratory experiment, students use Raman spectroscopy to highlight how the overall structure and conformational order of lipid bilayers can be influenced by their individual phospholipid composition. Students prepare a supported lipid bilayer, as a model cell membrane, by spreading liposomes made of various…

The magnetic field of Earth, B[subscript e], is an intriguing topic in the introductory physics curriculum that engages students' curiosity and inspires numerous speculations about the nature of this phenomenon. There are several methods for measuring Earth's magnetic field. Probably, the most widespread and visual method of measuring the field in…

In the 1930s, the teaching staff of the University of Chicago devised a clever way to deliver experimental data to their introductory students without meeting them in the laboratory. The university's curriculum included a required Introductory Course in the Physical Sciences. There were probably too many students to allow for a standard…

The Wilson cloud chamber, invented in 1911 by Scottish physicist Charles Wilson, is a remarkably simple and effective charged particle detector. Cloud chambers were used regularly in particle physics experiments for decades, until being supplanted by bubble chambers. In this article, we describe a lab activity that is suitable for…

An absorption line at 900 nm has been observed in Perspex. Samples of 1 and 2 cm thickness were used and the integrated absorption (line width times peak absorption) of the line was proportionate to the thickness. Facilities for lowering the sample temperature were not available and therefore both measurements were carried out at room temperature.…

Nowadays, students have digital skills that are much larger than any other student in the past. Traditional experiments in a real laboratory are still fundamental, however an increasing number of computers can be used to simulate experiments close to the experimental environment. This can be seen as a great advantage for science learning, as…

In this work, we present an experimental approximation to the study of the phenomenon of radioactivity in secondary schools, taking as an analogy the process of release of carbon dioxide in a carbonated beverage. In this way, we intend to facilitate the approach to the mathematical formalism and to the graphical description of this phenomenon, as…

In recent years, pedagogical advancements have allowed the adoption of more engaging forms of course assignments to help students better understand and communicate chemistry. In this context, informational graphics, known as infographics, emerge as an effective teaching aid in educational settings and in disseminating scientific content to the…

Chemists have always designed and deployed cross-disciplinary approaches that interface chemistry with other disciplines to proffer solutions to many human problems. We designed a laboratory experiment that implements chemistry concepts in a biological model to prime undergraduate students to appreciate interdisciplinarity as an approach to…