The suspension of in-person classes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated adjustments to all manner of instruction. Laboratory instruction was particularly challenged since the primary response was to deliver content remotely, i.e., online. In an effort to reinforce laboratory topics and engage students, five click-through organic…

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the separation of the primary colors of ink markers and food coloring was performed using a simplified column chromatography setup at home to accomplish the educational outcome of the course. The virtual class instruction, for the students enrolled in the "Organic Techniques Laboratory"…

Light emitting diodes have been used to determine Planck's constant in introductory physics laboratories. One common method relies on the energy of the light emitted by the LED and its relation to the energy gap in the solid of which the diode is composed. However, there could be a problem with the data that are collected for this experiment. For…

Electrocatalytic hydrogenation of acetol (IUPAC: 1-hydroxy-2-propanone), a species formed upon thermal liquefaction of biomass, can be achieved using inexpensive objects: filter paper, coins, batteries, salts, and water. This simple example demonstrates that "green" chemical transformations can be achieved with familiar items and helps…

In this article, we examine the rotation angle dependence of a hand-made fan-type variable capacitor for use in physics experiments in university classes. We made two circular bakelite plates, and the two terminal plates of the capacitor were 90° fan-type copper disks. The capacitance varied linearly with the rotation angle. The standard deviation…

The prompt transfer of cutting-edge science into students' curricula is a challenging task. Often research experiments are too complex or expensive to be translated into a secondary or tertiary education setting. Herein, we introduce a laboratory experiment that translates the recently developed research technique of a wavelength dependent,…

Resonant cavity perturbation as a means to measuring permittivity has been used since the early 1940s. It is attractive because it is non-contact, non-destructive and experimentally simple. Only recently, however, has the cost of a small analyser board become acceptably low that experiments can be carried out in schools and colleges. Using the TE…

When we teach thermodynamics, a vacuum container used to keep food isolated from air is a cheap and interesting teaching device. There are some experiments already described in the literature and we can also find videos of demonstrations on YouTube. At the same time, there is increasing interest in how to utilize smartphones in physics…

Introductory physics laboratory experiments have typically been employed to reinforce classroom instruction instead of teaching students experimental design. Recent research has shown that lab experiments that focus on experimental practices are more effective at teaching students physics concepts. The experiment described in this paper has been…

Herein we propose the implementation of an "escape room" activity to reinforce chemistry-related concepts for students of the Bachelor of Arts and Fashion. In this work, a combined online and offline activity is developed, easily adaptable to different environments. The online activity consists of 5 blocks of multiple-quiz questions…

Using a joystick module, we followed the movement of a chaotic magnetic pendulum. The pendulum bar was attached to a joystick that served as a pivot point and biaxial angular motion sensor. Using an Arduino board, we could follow the position as a function of time along both the "x" and "y"-axis and draw a graph showing the…

The bromination of six isomeric alcohols is adapted to a discovery-based organic chemistry laboratory experiment, whereby students are provided an alcohol starting material and are charged with determining the product or product mixture produced using relevant spectroscopic data. The experiment solidifies NMR analysis skills while reinforcing the…

We have developed a new foundation-level course at our institution that links the concept of chemical equilibria from four of the traditional subdisciplines (analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, and physical). The course, entitled Solution and Solid State Chemistry (CHEM 210), is designed to serve our chemistry and biochemistry majors, as well as…

This laboratory experiment introduces upper-division undergraduate analytical chemistry students to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in a forensic application: the analysis of cocaine and metabolites of cocaine in simulated serum ostensibly from drug overdose victims. For this investigation, students developed the…

We propose an apparatus that emulates the experiment used by Geiger and Marsden in 1913 to investigate alpha particles (Rutherford) scattering. Using a widely available fused deposition modelling 3D-printer, we built a compartmented and easily assembled educational instrument. The whole apparatus is composed of a 3D-printed chamber and an…