By building a schlieren optical system, the visualization of a 40 KHz sound wave is realized. By using the schlieren system, the demonstration of acoustic reflection, interference and diffraction can be easily realized. At the same time, the visual acoustic field provides another simple way for the measurement of sound velocity. In this paper, the…

Kundt's tube is a popular experiment commonly used in schools, in which standing sound waves are made visible inside a glass tube. A fine powder is stirred up in areas of high sound particle velocities, so that one can measure the wavelength of the sound waves by examining the patterns created. In this way, the 'invisible' can be made visible.…

Air pollution is one of our day's significant reasons for human health problems and affects every community throughout the world. Monitoring air pollution is a key aspect of raising awareness and pollution mitigation approaches followed by different nations. This paper targets to develop a low-cost Internet of things-based embedded system to…

The flight of a quadcopter drone, readily available as a toy, is analyzed using simple physics concepts. A smartphone with built-in accelerometer and gyroscope was attached to the drone to register the accelerations and angular velocities along the three spatial axis while the drone is taking off, landing or rotating. The vertical speed, the…

As part of their third-year general chemistry program, students at the University of the Côte d'Azur are taught the basics of radioactivity. The view that third-year university students have of the periodic Table of the Elements is often reduced because it ignores the vast majority of isotopes. As part of this program, a practicum devoted to the…

We present a simple and affordable method for making a surface electrodynamic trap for microparticles. The principles of electrodynamic trapping of charged particles are discussed and step-by-step instructions on how to make a surface trap are given. In addition to the electrodynamic trap implementation and operation process, options for its…

Symbolic, spatial, and visual information, which is important for comprehending and learning physical and natural sciences, is not readily accessible to blind and low-vision (BLV) students in the undergraduate chemistry classroom, laboratory, and virtual environment via conventional means (through print and images), thus, creating a…

The climate emergency is a source of anxiety for many young people. Images of drought, heat waves, wildfires, storms and flooding are increasingly appearing in the media. Today's children stand to be the recipients of our legacy of climate change, while not feeling empowered to do anything about it, so perhaps it is no wonder they are anxious.…

In many introductory physics classes, diffraction of light is introduced first, then more advanced diffraction topics such as x-ray diffraction, Bragg's law, and crystallography are covered. Since using x-rays raises safety concerns and atomic spacing in a crystal is not easy to change, microwaves with macroscopic crystals have been used to study…

A student experiment that uses QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) methodology for extraction and HPLC for quantitative determination of tocopherols from seeds and nuts is described here. Chromatographic separation is achieved by using a pentafluorophenyl stationary phase which gives enhanced separation of the tocopherols…

Oxidation reactions are critical components of the synthetic toolbox taught to undergraduate students during introductory organic chemistry courses. However, the oxidation reactions discussed in the undergraduate curriculum are often outdated as many organic chemistry textbooks emphasize chromium-based oxidants that are no longer in regular use by…

A well known physics problem is to calculate the friction forces required to support a ladder against a wall. A more tractable problem is to calculate the friction forces needed to support an inclined beam on a ball or a cylinder. In the latter case there are three rather than two points of sliding support. Measurements and calculations are…

The impact force and duration when one billiard ball collides head-on with another is estimated by assuming that the balls are connected by a spring. The results are compared with a measurement when a billiard ball collides with a heavy, rigid surface.

In a traditional teaching approach, a physics course begins with mechanics, and generally the braking effect due to magnetic interactions is not mentioned among the various types of friction presented (static, sliding, rolling) because students will discover magnetism only in later chapters. In our didactic experience this traditional choice is…

A flash purification system using prepacked cartridges containing different silica weights and particle sizes was employed to demonstrate the influence of column characteristics on chromatographic resolution. This chromatographic experiment was a helpful introduction to chromatographic courses where the influence of particle sizes was addressed…