In this guided-inquiry lesson, students were tasked with determining the efficacy of an at-home drinking water filter at removing lead (Pb) from tap water using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy by determining the concentration of lead before and after filtration. The lesson was structured to allow students to choose and perform…

The redesign of an advanced analytical and physical chemistry practical module for senior undergraduates is described in this report. The underpinning rationale for the changes is to use cooperative learning groups placed in situations beyond their previous experience to increase the student experience of Kolb's Learning Cycle to a level greater…

Based on quantitative survey data collected from an inquiry-based general chemistry laboratory course, the current study used marginal models to evaluate changes in students' teamwork and problem-solving skills, attitudes to teamwork, and willingness to explore new issues before and after the course. The results suggest that introductory-level…

The ACS Guidelines for bachelor's degrees in chemistry call for the curriculum to include polymer chemistry principles and the synthesis of different classes of macromolecules. Organic chemistry can provide an important introduction to polymer chemistry principles, and photochemically induced radical polymerization is one method for generating…

This study investigated the effects of Discovery Learning Scientific Community Laboratories (DL-SCL) and traditional non-DLSCL laboratories on students' conceptual understanding in a Physics-1 lab. At many universities, physics programs use a traditional lab style, despite research on the benefits for reform-oriented physics labs. This DL-SCL…

One challenge of teaching chemical analysis is the proliferation of sophisticated, but often impenetrable, instrumentation in the modern laboratory. Complex instruments, and the software that runs them, distance students from the physical and chemical processes that generate the analytical signal. A solution to this challenge is the introduction…

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) provide students opportunities to engage in research in a course. Aspects of CURE design, such as providing students opportunities to make discoveries, collaborate, engage in relevant work, and iterate to solve problems are thought to contribute to outcome achievement in CUREs. Yet how each…

Capillary electrophoresis is an important analytical separation method used to study a wide variety of samples, including those of biological origin. Capillary electrophoresis may be covered in the classroom, especially in advanced analytical courses, and while many students are exposed to gel electrophoresis in biology or biochemistry…

Reformed experimental activities (REActivities) are an innovative approach to the delivery of the traditional material in an undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory. A description of the design and implementation of REActivities at both a four- and two-year institution is discussed. The results obtained using a reformed teaching observational…

An educational activity is described in which the structure and physical properties of disposable plastic cups were directly related to the method of processing. The mechanical properties of specimens cut from the walls of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PETE) cups, oriented parallel and perpendicular to the thermoforming direction, were measured in…

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…

To support teaching and learning in the advanced placement (AP) chemistry laboratory, the College Board published a laboratory manual, "AP Chemistry Guided-Inquiry Experiments: Applying the Science Practices," in 2013 as part of the redesigned course. This article provides a discussion of the rationale for the existence of the manual as…

General scientific literacy includes understanding the grounds on which scientific claims are based. The measurements scientists make and the data that they produce from them generally constitute these grounds. However, the nature of data generation has received relatively little attention from those interested in teaching science through inquiry.…

Meaningful learning requires the integration of cognitive and affective learning with the psychomotor, i.e., hands-on learning. The undergraduate chemistry laboratory is an ideal place for meaningful learning to occur. However, accurately characterizing students' affective experiences in the chemistry laboratory can be a very difficult task. While…

The Holy Cross Chemistry Department has designed and implemented an experiment on buffers as part of our Discovery Chemistry curriculum. The pedagogical philosophy of Discovery Chemistry is to make the laboratory the focal point of learning for students in their first two years of undergraduate instruction. We first pose questions in prelaboratory…