Two methods for the extraction of maltol from Fraser fir needles are performed and compared in this two-week experiment. A traditional benchtop extraction using dichloromethane is compared to a microwave-assisted extraction using aqueous ethanol. Students perform both procedures and weigh the merits of each technique. In doing so, students see a…

This activity allows students to visualize the electrolysis of water in a microfluidic device in under 1 min. Instructional materials are provided to demonstrate how the activity meets West Virginia content standards and objectives. Electrolysis of water is a standard chemistry experiment, but the typical laboratory apparatus (e.g., Hoffman cell)…

A container was placed on top of a piece of white paper, and a pin positioned so that it vertically touched an outside wall of the container. Students were asked to predict the image of the pin when it was observed from the top of the container. Two scenarios of either an empty container or a container completely filled with water were considered…

Experiments are described on collisions between two billiard balls and between a bat and a ball. The experiments are designed to extend a student's understanding of collision events and could be used either as a classroom demonstration or for a student project.

An introductory level green chemistry experiment is described that places a new twist on soap-making in lab. In this experiment, oil is extracted from an avocado, after which the oil is saponified to produce bars of green craft soap. Commonly used extraction solvents, such as petroleum ether, methylene chloride, and hexane, are replaced with safer…

A [superscript 1]H NMR spectroscopy-based laboratory experiment explores mono- and disaccharide structural chemistry, and the enzyme-substrate specificity of glycosidic bond cleavage by ß-glucosidase towards cellobiose (ß-linked gluco-disaccharide) and maltose (a-linked gluco-disaccharide). Structural differences between cellobiose, maltose, and…

A "one-pot" method for acquiring kinetic data for the reactions of a series of substituted aromatic esters with potassium hydroxide using [supserscript 13]C NMR spectroscopy is described, which provides an efficient way to obtain sufficient data to demonstrate the Hammett equation in undergraduate laboratories. The method is…

A pedagogically useful discovery-based undergraduate organic chemistry lab experiment probing the chemo- and diastereoselectivity in the NaBH[subscript 4] reduction of two chiral ketoesters (benzoin acetate and benzoin benzoate) has been developed. This experiment complements a previously described and highly popular discovery-based experiment…

This experiment combines analytical techniques of solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with easily relatable and accessible plant volatile chemistry (floral and vegetative scents of local/available plants). The biosynthesis and structure of these chemicals are of interest in the areas of organic chemistry,…

Energy drinks, as familiar consumer products, have been widely used in laboratory courses to help promote student interest, as well as to connect lecture concepts with laboratory work. Energy drinks contain B vitamins: pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and riboflavin (vitamin B2) of which amounts are high enough to be of concern. In this work, a fast and…

The Distributed Drug Discovery (D3) program trains students in three drug discovery disciplines (synthesis, computational analysis, and biological screening) while addressing the important challenge of discovering drug leads for neglected diseases. This article focuses on implementation of the synthesis component in the second-semester…

Each May a Slovenian science extravaganza called Znanstival (Sciencetival, www.sciencetival.si) fills the streets and other public venues with the excitement of science. Organized by the staff of Hisa eksperimentov (House of Experiments or simply HE, www.he.si), a jewel of a science museum located in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, the annual…

In 2010, the Wiimote was upgraded with three-axis gyroscopes that can measure rotational velocities up to 2000 deg/s. The improved remote is referred to as the Wii MotionPlus. We present experiments that use the gyroscope's capabilities and compare data acquired in lab settings with those obtained in playground environments. Van Hook et al.…

The inverse-square law for the intensity of light received at a distance from a light source has been verified using various experimental techniques. Typical measurements involve a manual variation of the distance between a light source and a light sensor, usually by sliding the sensor or source along a bench, measuring the source-sensor distance…

In a recent issue of "TPT," Gordon Gore made interesting observations about the red or yellow fluorescence when laser beams are passed through olive oil. With the excellent visuals contained in that article, we present a pictorial explanation of the questions that were raised in Ref 1 ("Fun with Fluorescence in Olive Oil,"…