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…

The motions of Newton's cradle, consisting of several steel balls hanging side-by-side, have been analysed in terms of a sound pulse that travels via points of contact among the balls. This presupposes a focused energy beam. When the pulse reaches the fifth and final ball, the energy disperses and dislocates the ball with a trajectory equivalent…

The purpose of this laboratory experiment is to study fundamental concepts of kinetics and equilibria and the isotope effects associated with both of these concepts. The concepts of isotopes in introductory and general chemistry courses are typically used within the contexts of atomic weights and radioactivity. Kinetic and equilibrium isotope…

To familiarize first-year students with the important ingredients of a physics experiment, we offer them a project close to their daily life: measuring the effect of air resistance on a bicycle. Experiments are done with a bicycle freewheeling on a downhill slope. The data are compared with equations of motions corresponding to different models…

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…

The POGIL-PCL project implements the principles of process-oriented, guided-inquiry learning (POGIL) in order to improve student learning in the physical chemistry laboratory (PCL) course. The inquiry-based physical chemistry experiments being developed emphasize modeling of chemical phenomena. In each experiment, students work through at least…

A traditional organic chemistry laboratory experiment involves the acid-catalyzed isomerization of (-)-menthone to (+)-isomenthone. This experiment generates large quantities of organic and aqueous waste, and only allows the final ratio of isomers to be determined. A "green" modification has been developed that replaces the mineral acid…

Elementary, middle-level, and high school science teachers commonly find their students have misconceptions about heat and temperature. Unfortunately, student misconceptions are difficult to modify or change and can prevent students from learning the accurate scientific explanation. In order to improve our students' understanding of heat and…

In enzyme kinetic studies, linear transformations of the Michaelis-Menten equation, such as the Lineweaver-Burk double-reciprocal transformation, present some constraints. The linear transformation distorts the experimental error and the relationship between "x" and "y" axes; consequently, linear regression of transformed data…

Newton's cradle, a device consisting of a chain of steel balls suspended in alignment, has been used extensively in physics teaching to demonstrate the principles of conservation of momentum and kinetic energy in elastic collisions. The apparent simplicity of the device allows one to test commonly hold views regarding the intuitive understanding…

The technique for producing quantum-sized zinc oxide (ZnO) particles is much safer than a technique that used hydrogen sulfide gas to produce cadmium sulfide and zinc sulfide nanoparticles. A further advantage of this method is the ability to sample the solution over time and hence determine the growth kinetics.

Hydrogen is a very important industrial gas in chemical processes. It is very volatile; therefore, it can escape from the process units and its mass balance is not always correct. In many industrial processes where hydrogen is reacted, kinetics are often related to hydrogen pressure. The right thermodynamic properties of hydrogen can be found for…

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)