A cylinder rolling down an inclined board is a commonly seen and interesting object to study and it is also easy to experiment with and model. Following what has become a popular practice, we use smartphones to measure the angular acceleration of a cylinder rolling down a plane of different inclining angles. The friction force deviates from the…

A classical nonlinear system, the "Brusselator", was used to illustrate the modeling and simulation of oscillating chemical systems using stability analysis techniques with modern software tools such as Comsol Multiphysics, Matlab, and Excel. A systematic approach is proposed in order to establish a regime of parametric conditions that…

This experiment and analysis offer an effective experience in greenhouse gas reduction. Ammoniated water is flowed counter-current to a simulated flue gas of air and CO2 in a packed column. The gaseous CO2 concentrations are measured with an on-line, non- dispersive, infrared analyzer. Column operating parameters include total gas flux, dissolved…

SCILAB is a lesser-known program (than MATLAB) for numeric simulations and has the advantage of being free software. A challenging software-based activity to analyze the most common linear reversible inhibition types with SCILAB is described. Students establish typical values for the concentration of enzyme, substrate, and inhibitor to simulate…

This experiment and analysis offer an economic yet challenging semi-batch reactor experience. Household bleach is pumped at a controlled rate into a batch reactor containing pharmaceutical hydrogen peroxide solution. Batch temperature, product molecular oxygen, and the overall change in solution conductivity are metered. The reactor simulation…

A classroom exercise is described to introduce enzyme kinetics in an undergraduate biochemistry or chemistry course. The exercise is a simulation in which a student acts as an enzyme that "catalyzes" the unscrewing of a nut from a bolt. With other students assisting, the student enzyme carries out reactions with bolt-nut substrates under different…

Using macroscopic thermodynamics, the general law for adiabatic processes carried out by an ideal gas was studied. It was shown that the process reversibility is characterized by the adiabatic reversibility coefficient r, in the range 0 [less than or equal] r [less than or equal] 1 for expansions and r [greater than or equal] 1 for compressions.…

We describe a computer tutorial that introduces the concept of the steady state in enzyme kinetics. The tutorial allows students to produce graphs of the concentrations of free enzyme, enzyme-substrate complex, and product versus time in order to learn about the approach to steady state. By using a range of substrate concentrations and rate…

Presents an intuitive derivation of the point reactor equations followed by formulation of equations for inverse and direct kinetics which are readily programmed on a digital computer. Suggests several computer simulations involving the effect of control rod motion on reactor power. (MLH)

Describes an intermediate level mechanics course based on the solution of problems by computer. The nature of these problems and their solution by computer is discussed, and the sources of the programs indicated. (Author/TS)

Describes four cases for which simulation techniques can be used to analyze the kinetics of the chemical system. Included are series first-order and enzyme kinetics. (MA)

Discusses the use of the System Dynamics technique in simulating a chemical reaction for kinetic analysis. Also discusses the use of simulation modelling in biology, ecology, and the social sciences, where experimentation may be impractical or impossible. (MLH)