Nanotechnology is guided by the assumption that with the ability to shape or re-shape at the molecular level, we could manipulate the physical world. Some speculate that this ability will be the beginning of the next technological revolution. Hence, an aim of secondary science education should be the development of scientifically literate citizens…

Finding ways to demonstrate--in a high school classroom--that subatomic particles from space produce other particles capable of reaching the Earth's surface is not a trivial task. In this paper, we describe a Geiger-Muller tube-based cosmic ray coincidence detector we produced at a total cost of less than $200, using two tubes purchased used…

We report the findings of a large-scale (n = 1,337) qualitative descriptive analysis of U.S. high schools students' particulate representations of a chemical reaction, specifically, the combustion of methane. Data were collected as part of an end of course exam. Student representations were coded into 17 distinct subcategories under one of five…

A study of chemistry students in an organic practical class, where they were required to work on their own, found considerable benefits in allowing them to work independently in a less organised environment. Although apprehensive at first, they soon gained a self-belief in their own abilities and were able to complete the course with minimal input…

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is an important tool in the structural analysis of both organic and inorganic molecules. Proton NMR spectra can yield information about the chemical or bonding environment surrounding various protons, the number of protons in those environments, and the number of neighbouring protons around each…

The unusual thermal behavior of rubbers, though discovered a long time ago, can still be mind-boggling for students and teachers who encounter this class of polymeric systems. Unlike other solids, stretched elastic polymers shrink upon heating. This is a manifestation of the Gough-Joule (G-J) effect. Joule in the 1850s studied the thermal behavior…

We describe how we use boiling-point trends of group IV-VII hydrides to introduce intermolecular forces in our first-year general chemistry classes. Starting with the idea that molecules in the liquid state are held together by some kind of force that must be overcome for boiling to take place, students use data analysis and critical reasoning to…

When irreducible representations are given in diagrammatic form, it is possible to show direct products pictorially. By giving a similar description of the electric vector associated with a light wave, group-theoretical selection rules (the requirement of a totally symmetric direct product) can also be shown in pictorial form. The [upsilon](CO)…

This experiment describes the reaction of palladium(II) chloride with 1,5-bis(diphenylphosphino)pentane by grinding the two powders together in the solid state. The product is the precursor for the metalation reaction at one of the methylene carbon atoms of the ligand's backbone. The final product is known to be a catalyst for Suzuki-Miyaura…

We report a simple, inexpensive, visual, and environmentally friendly S[subscript N]2 reaction appropriate for the second-year organic chemistry laboratory that illustrates stereospecificity, dependence of water solubility on the state of ionization, optical activity, and effect of diastereotopic protons in [superscript 1]H NMR spectroscopy. The…

A second-year organic chemistry laboratory experiment to introduce students to general concepts of medicinal chemistry is described. Within a single three-hour time window, students experience the synthesis of a biologically active small molecule and the assaying of its biological toxicity. Benzodiazepine rings are commonly found in antidepressant…

Introductory organic chemistry is often perceived as inaccessible by students. This article describes a method used to link organic chemistry to everyday experience, asking students to explore whether fragrant molecules are also aromatic in the chemical sense. Students were engaged in this activity, excited about their results, and performed well…

Understanding the atom gives the opportunity to both understand and conceptually unify the various domains of science, such as physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy and geology. Among these disciplines, physics teachers are expected to be particularly well educated in this topic. It is important that pre-service physics teachers know what sort of…

We study the hydrogen atom confined to a spherical box with impenetrable walls but, unlike earlier pedagogical articles on the subject, we assume that the nucleus also moves. We obtain the ground-state energy approximately by means of first-order perturbation theory and show that it is greater than that for the case in which the nucleus is clamped…

The steady-state is a fundamental aspect of biochemical pathways in cells; indeed, the concept of steady-state is a definition of life itself. In a simple enzyme kinetic scheme, the steady-state condition is easy to define analytically but experimentally often difficult to capture because of its evanescent quality; the initial, constant velocity…