Laboratory courses can serve as important avenues to equitably support introductory biology students to develop foundational scientific literacy skills while experiencing the authentic research process. We present a model for an equity-focused redesign of an introductory organismal biology laboratory course at a teaching institution with limited…

Hands-on experiences in analytical chemistry laboratories are essential to improve students' technical skills on handling analytical glassware and instruments, but the coronavirus pandemic in 2020-2021 disrupted such learning activities. Thus, alternative remote activities are required to supplement practical skills. In this work, a new portable…

Quantum technology is an emerging field of physics and engineering and important applications are expected in quantum computing, quantum sensing, quantum cryptography, quantum simulation, and quantum metrology. Thus the need for education in this field is increasing, while still remaining challenging. While the need for basic education in quantum…

Given the importance of self-healing polymers for chemistry education, herein, we introduce our latest research results in self-healing materials based on thioctic acid into undergraduate chemistry laboratory. In this experiment, a natural small molecule, thioctic acid (TA), and a few other commercially-available reagents have been used to make a…

Protein engineering represents a modern approach to generate novel proteins for the different fields of biotechnology. Here, we report about an 8-day laboratory activity in which students generate enzyme variants to degrade the herbicide glyphosate. The students conduct a true research experiment in an important field (bioremediation by novel,…

An upper-division undergraduate- or graduate-level laboratory experiment, challenging students to identify bovine serum albumin, equine myoglobin, bovine calmodulin, and bovine cytochrome c, uses four methods of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS): linear positive, in-source decay, peptide…

The Leidenfrost nanochemistry synthesis of gold colloids was introduced in this "Journal" as an advanced method to synthesize gold nanoparticles during an undergraduate nanochemistry research project. When trying to repeat these experiments in the laboratory, we experienced difficulties in the synthesis of the gold nanoparticles since…

In a classical electronic laboratory, there is an experiment where a diode is connected in a series with a resistor and a variable DC voltage source in order to draw the characteristic I-V curve of the diode. Input voltage is gradually increased starting from 0 V, and the potential difference between the diode's terminals is read by using a…

BYOL (Bring Your Own Lime), a novel laboratory experiment, is introduced in this paper. Students are encouraged to bring affordable household and grocery store chemicals into the classroom. The Bring Your Own Chemical (BYOC) concept demonstrates to students that food and household products are chemicals too. Citruses are often used to highlight…

This paper describes the development of a light polarization experimental apparatus for a remote laboratory. The apparatus had been developed by controlling the analyzer rotation using a stepper motor controlled via the Arduino. Device control and data acquisition applications were developed with LabVIEW which provides remote control panel…

An experimental approach to chemistry is a more meaningful way to learn than the use of textbooks alone. Working in the laboratory helps students understand basic concepts through their active engagement. Here, we present a series of inexpensive and environmentally friendly laboratory exercises on acid-base equilibrium. Their difficulty level is…

More than ever, there is an increasing need for digital experimental learning environments in chemistry. The variety of digital learning approaches provided to students range from simple videos showing experiments to highly interactive virtual laboratories. Regardless of which approach is chosen, a digital learning environment should be adapted to…

Physics teachers are often faced with the challenge of having to set up difficult experiments, or they have to consciously manipulate parameters in order to be able to demonstrate a phenomenon convincingly. Comprehensive laboratory courses are standard procedure in any study program for prospective physics teachers. However, many students, even…

Practical work as observation and experimentation are vital parts of science education. One way to accomplish this is by applying inquiry-based learning in laboratory activities. Inquiry enhances the development of scientific skills as well as the learning of the scientific concepts. In the present article, a laboratory activity was developed to…

This experiment combines analytical techniques of solid-phase extraction (SPE) and gas chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-QTOF-MS) to determine organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in river water as a means to develop and improve student understanding of the use of GC-QTOF-MS for qualitative and quantitative analysis. In…