The use of toluidine blue as a stain for plant tissues is advocated. Directions for hand-cut tissue staining are provided. (PEB)

The temperature at which the onset of coordinated segmental motion begins is called the glass-rubber transition temperature (Tg). Natural rubber at room temperature is a good example of a material above its Tg. Describes an experiment examining the response of a typical polymer to temperature variations above and below Tg. (Author/JN)

Cerenkov counting is a useful technique for assaying medium/high energy beta emitters in aqueous solutions. Advantages of the technique include: (1) simple sample preparation; (2) being able to handle large volume of aqueous solution for counting; and (3) absence of chemical quenching. Cerenkov counting is also less expensive than other methods.…

Describes procedures for preparing acetylacetonate complex of cobalt(II), followed by spectrophotometric analysis to characterize the material, with additional characterization methods supplied by students to provide open-ended dimension for the experiment. (SK)

Measurement of the time dependence of the flow of charge constitutes the procedure known as chronocoulometry. Although the technique is useful in a variety of electrochemical measurements, the discussion focuses on the evaluation of reactant adsorption, the application for which the technique was originally devised. (JN)

Discusses the nature of pulse voltammetry, indicating that its widespread use arises from good sensitivity and detection limits and from ease of application and low cost. Provides analytical and mechanistic applications of the procedure. (JN)

Describes basic characteristics of the electrochemical cell. Also describes basic principles of electrochemical procedures and use of these concepts to explain use of the term "primarily" in discussions of methods primarily responsive to equilibrium cell potential, bulk ohmic resistance, and the Faradaic impedance. (JN)

Use of combined liquid chromatography and finite-current electrochemistry (LCEC) procedures are discussed. Also discusses the relationship between electroactivity and molecular structure, selectivity in LCEC, and LCEC applications. Because of its selectivity and low detection limits, the procedures are most often applied in biomedical and…

Provides background information, apparatus needed, and procedures for an experiment to measure transient response of a stirred vessel. The inexpensive apparatus can be used for two different experiments, reducing cost per experiment. Both experiments use salt dilution as the method of demonstration. (Author/JN)

Reviews trends in liquid chromatography including apparatus, factors affecting efficient separation of a mixture (peak sharpness and speed), simplified problem-solving, adsorption, bonded phase chromatography, ion selectivity, and size exclusion. The current trend is to control chemical selectivity by the liquid phase. (Author/JN)

Use of gradient elution techniques in high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is often essential for direct separation of complex mixtures. Since most commercial controllers have features that are of marginal value for instructional purposes, a low-cost controller capable of illustrating essential features of gradient elution was developed.…

Describes an inexpensive means for determining proximate analysis of coal, and by use of this data, its energy content. Pyrite content is also obtained by utilizing magnetic properties of iron. The simple device used makes the experiment suitable for the undergraduate laboratory. (Author/JN)