The authors describe the construction and use of tactile models for demonstrating intermolecular forces. These models are composed of inexpensive materials and can be used in college chemistry classrooms of varying levels including general and organic chemistry. The models were designed to be paired with an accompanying activity to encourage…

Student-generated drawings are known to be effective in building and revealing students' conceptions of chemistry. Some chemistry concepts, moreover, include changes and processes that cannot be merely represented by static drawings. Computer-based animations are needed to represent the dynamics. In this study, 25 chemistry student teachers, who…

Understanding chemical models can be challenging for many university students studying chemistry. This study analysed students' understanding of molecular structures using the Lewis structure as a model, and examined what hinders their understanding. We conducted pre- and post-tests to analyse students' conceptions and changes in them. The…

Augmented/virtual realities (ARs/VRs) promise to revolutionize STEM education. However, most easy-to-use tools are limited to static visualizations, which limits the approachable content, whereas more interactive and dynamic alternatives require costly hardware, preventing large-scale use and evaluation of pedagogical effects. Here, we introduce…

The effectiveness of the 5E model has been supported by research in schools in recent years, although its efficacy has rarely been assessed in the long term to avoid novelty effects and to consider the impact of the usual loss of fidelity that time entails. This study was designed to assess the long-term effects on students' conceptual learning as…

Gold nanoparticles are exciting materials in nanotechnology and nanoscience research and are being applied across a wide range of fields including imaging, chemical sensing, energy storage, and cancer therapies. In this experiment, students will synthesize two sizes of gold nanospheres (~20 and ~100 nm) and will create gold nanostars utilizing a…

Chemistry as a discipline in general incorporates abstract concepts, which should be visualized through experiment- and application-oriented methods. It is a well-known fact in Turkey that chemistry class offered by simple and traditional methods cannot be understood by students at a satisfactory level. Such chemical subjects as atoms, molecules,…

There has been widespread interest in the study of oxoacids of phosphorus owing to their characteristic structures and uses in various areas of daily life. In this article, a new strategy is recommended to determine their structures. This strategy will help to develop problem-solving skills and creativity among students. The strategy is based on…

An introduction to the Quantum Chemistry Package (QCP), implemented in the computer algebra system Maple, is presented. The QCP combines sophisticated electronic structure methods and Maple's easy-to-use graphical interface to enable computation and visualization of the electronic energies and properties of molecules. Here we describe how the QCP…

A simple one-dimensional [superscript 1]H NMR experiment that quantifies protein bound to gold nanoparticles has been developed for upper-division biochemistry and physical chemistry students. This laboratory experiment teaches the basics of NMR techniques, which is a highly effective tool in protein studies and supports students to understand the…

Infrared (IR) thermography renders invisible infrared radiation with intuitive coloration in images and videos taken of objects, reactions, and processes. Educators can take advantage of this technology to extend students' sensory perception of chemical reactions or processes that absorb or release heat in rich detail. In theory, IR thermography…

This laboratory experiment allows one to study the effect of temperature in the process of formation of hydrogen bound cyclic dimers of benzoic acid (BA). The implementation of the proposed methodology, which comprises the use of FTIR spectroscopy and quantum chemistry calculations, enables the obtaining of the thermodynamic parameters of the…

Living cells are crowded. The presence of so many macromolecules packed into a confined environment affects the structure and function of biological components, and the kinetics and thermodynamics of biochemical reactions. In fact, crowding studies have already led to important biological insights, such as the existence of metabolons and other…

The Maxwell distribution of speeds, f(v), is the starting point for the calculation of the transport coefficients in kinetic-molecular theory. Most physical chemistry textbooks follow a path to derive f(v) similar to that used by Maxwell, which makes it difficult for students to understand its relationship with the equilibrium state of the system,…

Integrating knowledge across disciplines has been shown to be a challenging, and yet it is a necessary skill that university students need to develop. Students who are able to connect different concepts, perspectives, and angles of a given topic are generally more engaged and have better understanding. However, designing lesson plans or…