Accuracy and precision are measures of experimental error and are fundamental to most chemical analysis laboratory classes. Assessment of accuracy and precision is often based on the comprehension of the results generated by students rather than on the quality of the data generated. This activity focused on developing a chemical analysis…

The process of method development is at the heart of analytical chemistry, yet direct experimental experience with the process is rarely taught in the undergraduate laboratory. We report here an experiment that uses rapid, safe, and inexpensive paper-based microfluidics with cell phone detection in order to facilitate the development of a…

This paper describes a very simple, but accurate method of finding the position of the infinity focus of a telescope objective relative to the rear face of its lens cell. The method is easily undertaken in the classroom and provides an opportunity for learners to conduct an interesting and novel optical experiment which introduces thick lens…

The ubiquitous bouncy ball, or "superball," is an engaging child's toy that has endured for more than 50 years. But what makes a bouncy ball so uniquely suited to its name? Steel balls, for example, are more highly elastic than are butadiene bouncy balls. Yet it is butadiene balls, and not steel balls, that appear in toy stores and…

In this article we consider a well-known simple, very accessible demonstration of surface tension with a small boat propelled by substances that change the surface tension of water. A simple quantitative evaluation is provided that matches well with experimental data. A modification to the experiment is proposed allowing it to continue for a long…

A new experiment for use in introductory nanotechnology courses is described. This experiment allows students to fabricate metallic wires with microscale lateral dimensions and nanoscale vertical dimensions. Fabrication occurs in the capillaries of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamps modified with hydrophilic polymers. This experiment provides…

Molecular photochemistry is an integral field in chemistry. Despite this, it is often difficult to demonstrate an effective hands-on experiment that offers a unique opportunity to students to observe photochemistry in action. Although simple laboratory experiments which use a UV-vis wavelength lamp do provide some photochemical information, the…

Polymers are ubiquitous and essential to modern society, which is why the American Chemical Society has mandated inclusion of polymer chemistry in the undergraduate curriculum. To meet this requirement, we have chosen to weave a polymeric theme through multiple laboratory courses beginning with organic chemistry, where students use aspartic acid…

A eutectic system is a mixture of two or more substances, displaying a melting temperature lower than its standalone components. The eutectic composition displays the lowest melting temperature of all mixtures. Typically, a eutectic system is used as an example of binary phase diagrams to demonstrate to undergraduate students. Herein, the liquidus…

Watching over a coffee maker in operation, and designing a simple experiment using it, invokes familiar and unfamiliar physical phenomena and techniques involving calorimetry and heat transfer.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the conversion of the quantitative chemical laboratory from a face-to-face format to a distance learning format for the latter half of the Spring 2020 semester. This work provides insight into two different types of assignments given to students during this time: a lab report and a short-answer assignment. At the…

We report a research-enhanced undergraduate laboratory practical in which students synthesize and characterize color-controllable, stable silver nanoparticles for use in a simple catalytic reaction analyzed by UV-vis spectroscopy. The practical has been prepared for students using electronic laboratory notebooks, enables collaborative data…

A new two-step experiment has been designed and developed for the curriculum of the Organic Chemistry Laboratory 2 (CHEM2240L) sophomore course at Xavier University of Louisiana, in New Orleans. Initially, cyclohexanol was converted to cyclohexanone using bleach as the oxidizing agent followed by the formation of the cyclohexanone oxime. However,…

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is an indispensable technique in the organic chemistry laboratory for elucidation of molecular structure. Miniaturization of NMR technology has attracted attention and acceptance due to a considerable reduction in the cost to acquire and maintain the instrument. The advent of low-field, low-cost, and…

The Cosmic-Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory (CREDO) is the project to search and study ultra high-energy cosmic ray particles from deep space producing simultaneous extensive air showers over the entire exposed surface of the Earth. The concept of the CREDO infrastructure assumes absorbing all kinds of cosmic ray data from any apparatus all…