In this introductory organic chemistry experiment, the students get an opportunity to analyze and identify an unknown compound as it is done in a real-laboratory setting. First, students are instructed on the proper operation of three major instruments, NMR, IR, and GC-MS, and are given a sample of an unknown compound. The students are expected to…

Described is a simple, cheap and versatile homemade windmill and electrical generator suitable for a school class to use to explore many aspects and practicalities of using wind to generate electrical power. (Contains 8 figures.)

Hops have been used for centuries to impart aroma and bitterness to beer. The cones of the female hop plant contain both essential oils, which include many of the fragrant components of hops, and a collection of compounds known as [alpha]- and [beta]-acids that are the precursors to bittering agents. In order for brewers to predict the ultimate…

Students analyze "trans"-cinnamaldehyde in commercial cinnamon using solid-phase microextraction and GC-MS with ethyl benzoate as the internal standard. Aside from the instrumentation, the experiment utilizes readily available low hazard materials and can be completed within one four-hour laboratory period. (Contains 2 figures.)

This article describes an undergraduate electrochemistry laboratory experiment in which the students measure the L-ascorbic acid content of a real sample. Gold electrodes modified with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thioctic acid and cysteamine are prepared to study the effects of surface modification on the electrode reaction of L-ascorbic…

A simple method for studying the kinetics of a chemical reaction is described and the significance of reaction orders in deducing reaction mechanisms is demonstrated. In this student laboratory experiment, oxidation of iodide by iron(III) ions in an acidic medium is transformed into a clock reaction. By means of the initial rates method, it is…

Sign comprehension is critical for effective driving, responses to warnings, and way-finding. Signs that are poorly comprehended by older people increase accident risk and may compromise independence. This study sought to determine whether iconic sign comprehension suffers in healthy aging and in the presence of cognitive impairment. Additionally,…

This article describes a static method as an alternative to gel chromatography, which may be used as an undergraduate laboratory experiment. In this method, a constant mass of Sephadex gel is swollen in a series of protein solutions. UV-vis spectrophotometry is used to find a partition coefficient, KD, that indicates the fraction of the interior…

In this article the problems of functioning algorithms development for system of the automated analysis of educational process rhythm in a higher educational institution are considered. Using the device of experiment planning for conducting the scientific researches, adapted methodologies, received by authors in the dissertational works at the…

This article presents an experiment designed to provide students, in a classroom laboratory setting, a hands-on demonstration of the steps used in DNA forensic analysis by performing DNA extraction, DNA fingerprinting, and statistical analysis of the data. This experiment demonstrates how DNA fingerprinting is performed and how long it takes. It…

Researchers have often overlooked the relationships between sex and ratings of word characteristics, such as concreteness, context-availability, imageability, and emotionality. The current study investigated whether or not sex differences exist in such ratings for abstract, concrete, and emotion words. The results indicated that females rated…

Do rats run and respond at a higher rate to run during the dark phase when they are typically more active? To answer this question, Long Evans rats were exposed to a response-initiated variable interval 30-s schedule of wheel-running reinforcement during light and dark cycles. Wheel-running and local lever-pressing rates increased modestly during…

Of all the applications of psychoanalysis to various fields, perhaps none has been as important--or as fraught--as the application of psychoanalytic insights to education. This paper re-constructs some of the early debates around psychoanalysis and pedagogy that Anna Freud engaged with during the 1920s in Vienna, when the whole question of what…

Two experiments investigated how 3-year-old children select a tool to perform a manual task, with a focus on their perseverative parameter choices for the various relationships involved in handling a tool: the actor-to-tool relation and the tool-to-target relation (topology). The first study concerned the parameter value for the tool-to-target…

It is well-established that subjective judgments of perceived urgency of alarm sounds can be affected by acoustic parameters. In this study, the authors investigated an objective measurement, the reaction time (RT), to test the effectiveness of temporal parameters of sounds in the context of warning sounds. Three experiments were performed using a…