The prompt introduction of single-molecule science into undergraduates' curricula is an urgent but challenging task. However, the research experiments are often too complicated and the instruments are too expensive to be widely transferred into a compulsory course of undergraduate students. Herein, we introduce a recently developed nanopore…

The use of symmetry is widespread in chemistry, as it is used for predictions of the number of allowed and forbidden absorptions in electronic, vibrational, and rotational spectroscopies; for predictions of the combination of atomic orbitals to produce molecular orbitals; and in many other chemical applications. One critical step in these…

Industrial drug discovery teams encompass scientists from multiple specialties and require participants to communicate effectively across disciplinary boundaries. In this paper, we present an undergraduate or graduate classroom simulation of this environment. Over a series of five workshops, student teams of mixed scientific backgrounds perform…

Torsional effects influence kinetic selectivity in a wide range of organic transformations. As such, textbooks commonly use Newman projections to illustrate the torsional effects that arise in their transition states. Unfortunately, these representations fall short when the reaction occurs "within a ring." In many cases, the torsional…

The students in our physical chemistry course pointed out an interesting trend in the bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of successive homolytic cleavages of hydrogens from methane and water. Namely, while there is an increase in BDE from CH[subscript 4] to CH[subscript 3], there is a decrease in BDE from H[subscript 2]O to OH. In order to explain…

Preceding even the Hartree-Fock method, molecular integrals are the very foundation upon which quantum chemical molecular modeling depends. Discussions of molecular integrals are normally found only in advanced and technical texts or articles. The objective of the present article is to provide less experienced readers, or students in a…

Due to the wide and the ever-increasing strategic applications of quantum chemistry in chemical industries, it is important to introduce chemical engineering students to illustrative case studies that deploy molecular modeling in the design of reactors and derivation of thermochemical functions. Herein, we demonstrate how quantum chemical…

In common with many other countries, the Iranian science curriculum does not introduce primary children to atoms and molecules but instead leaves the teaching of these concepts until high school. This paper challenges this practice and describes the changes in elementary Iranian children's understanding of atoms and molecules following a 10-h…

Scientific literacy is an important skill for students' success, given the characteristics of today's society. However, not all students have a natural predisposition toward science, chemistry in particular. Considering the relevance of transdisciplinary learning, schools should foster the scientific abilities for which students may have less…

In the fall of 2009 and in the spring of 2012, supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), we designed a course "Phylogenetic Analysis and Molecular Evolution" (PAME), the first cross-listed course across three different colleges (College of Arts and Sciences,…

Research has shown that spatial ability plays a key role in understanding STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) content, including chemistry. Conservation of Matter (CoM) is an essential but challenging topic for chemistry students of all ages to grasp; it is often taught in a way where students memorize it but do not learn what…

Thomas Graham discovered the law that bears his name while studying gas diffusion into air and other gases. He also found that the same relationship held with gas effusion, the movement of gases through a pinhole into a vacuum. Modern understanding of diffusion and effusion is based on kinetic-molecular theory, and it is generally accepted that…

This study aims to develop a measurement tool to measure pre-service science fields teachers' (PSSFT') attitudes towards nanotechnology. For this purpose, a five-point Likert-type scale consisting of 55 items was applied to 373 PSSFT who enrolled in science fields (Science, Chemistry, Biology, Physics) at the grades 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th at a…

Visualization can be a motivating way to teach students about molecules. Nowadays, the available experimental data and accurate computational results allow students to build realistic and accurate molecular models. These models include the representation of complex systems such as proteins, membranes, or nanotubes. However, the visualization of…

This article focuses on the case study of the concept of covalent bonding for 10th grade pupils in France. On the basis of their conceptions and difficulties, didactical engineering has been established that should lead to an improvement in the understanding of this concept. After analyzing the pupils' difficulties, we reflected on the…