Describes an experimental arrangement for investigating optical barrier penetration. (SL)

Describes an apparatus for an experiment on winding motion in three dimensions. Discusses theory and provides a calculation example. (JM)

Discusses a course, centered around 32 experiments taught for advanced students, designed to develop a laboratory strongly suggestive of contemporary research using relatively sophisticated apparatus. Its unique advantage lies in enriching advanced physics curriculum. (DF)

Describes the use of laboratory equipment to demonstrate (1) the interference of light coming from an air wedge, (2) the generation of gas-filled soap bubbles, and (3) the generation of beats with a ripple tank. (LC)

An exercise is presented which demonstrates the determination of sample purity by differential scanning calorimetry. Data and references are provided to enable the exercise to be carried out as a dry-lab experiment. (BB)

A one-week experiment that was designed for providing students in an analytical chemistry laboratory course with an experience in statistical treatment of data is described. This laboratory experience benefited the students in several areas as they gained familiarity with many analytical glassware that they had not seen or used before, the…

In a 2003 issue of the "Journal of Chemical Education," Kniesel and Bellamy describe a timely and pedagogically effective experiment involving breath-alcohol analysis using an FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) spectrometer. The present article clarifies some of the information presented in the 2003 article.

Two Diels-Alder reactions are described that are suitable for a MORE (microwave-induced organic reaction enhanced) experiment in the organic chemistry laboratory course. A second experiment in which the splitting patterns of the vinyl protons in the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of two MORE adducts are used in conjunction with molecular…

The optimal conditions for the crystallization of achiral ethylenediamine sulfate into large chiral crystals that are ideal for polarimetry studies and observation using Polaroid sheets are presented. This experiment is an ideal undergraduate experiment, which clearly demonstrates the chiral crystallization of an achiral molecule.

Electrophoresis is a valuable tool for biochemists, yet this technique is often not included in biochemistry laboratory curricula owing to time constraints or lack of equipment. Protein structure is also a topic of interest in many disciplines, yet most undergraduate lab experiments focus only on primary structure. In this experiment, students use…

A computational experiment is devised for advanced inorganic laboratory course that allows the students to explore the structure and bonding patterns of ethene and some heavier analogues. The HOMO-LUMO gaps, double bond dissociation energetics, and optimized geometries of ethene, disilene, and digermene are explored.

It is well known that reaction rates and physical properties of any substance depend on the temperature. Therefore, an accurate temperature measurement is a key factor for successful activities both in chemical laboratories and industrial plants. Although plenty of sensors can be adopted for temperature measurements, thermocouples are the most…

An experiment to initiate students into several features of gas chromatograph-mass spectrometers (GC-MS) through the study of branded and counterfeit perfumes is described. The experiment enables the students to appreciate the power of GC-MS in distinguishing between original and imitation perfumes, and in analyzing data with its application…

Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center have demonstrated that dilute bleach not only kills common household mold, but may also neutralize the mold allergens that cause most mold-related health complaints. The study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, is the first to test the effect on allergic…

Most students consume fizzy drinks and will have seen the bubbles that appear when the drinks are poured. But how much gas is in the bottle or can? Simple investigations can answer this and other questions both theoretically and experimentally.