The fundamental principles and applications of thermodynamics and single-component phase equilibrium are used to explain and quantitatively analyze the operation and performance of the vapor-compression refrigerator (VCR). Carbon dioxide is used as the refrigerant. The four processes (or steps) that comprise the VCR refrigeration cycle are…

In this action research study, I propose a guided inquiry alternative to the traditional physical chemistry laboratory module where the equilibrium constant of acetic acid is determined conductometrically. I complement the guided inquiry structure with a 360° feedback support framework for the preparation and assessment of a laboratory report. The…

Fundamentals of Macroscopic Chemical Analysis is a newly developed foundation-level course that integrates concepts from traditional physical and analytical chemistry courses. The course was designed to serve majors in chemistry, biochemistry, and biology as well as pre-health professional students. The main goal of this course is to develop the…

As part of their third-year general chemistry program, students at the University of the Côte d'Azur are taught the basics of radioactivity. The view that third-year university students have of the periodic Table of the Elements is often reduced because it ignores the vast majority of isotopes. As part of this program, a practicum devoted to the…

Redox reactions and their balancing are one of the basic chemistry subjects in which students may experience remarkable learning difficulties at the beginning of their university career. This topic represents an evolution of stoichiometry concepts related to the balancing of chemical reactions and can be taught with different approaches as a…

Fractional distillation is part of the essential experimental techniques taught to first-year chemistry students, especially during practical organic chemistry work. The characterization of the distillate generally involves measuring the boiling temperature, the refractive index, or the infrared spectrum. In this paper, an unknown mixture composed…

Frost diagrams provide convenient illustrations of the aqueous reduction potentials and thermodynamic tendencies of different oxidation states of an element. Undergraduate textbooks often describe the lowest point on a Frost diagram as the most stable oxidation state of the element, but this interpretation is misleading because the thermodynamic…

The author introduces the concept of the quantum volume into thermodynamics teaching. A new derivation of the basic part of the Sackur-Tetrode equation uses the microcanonical ensemble instead of the math-heavy canonical ensemble. Entropy diagrams, based on the binomial distribution, visualize the ratio between the quantum volume and system volume.

Millions of people do not have access to clean drinking water; thus, cost-efficient water treatment systems are vital. Chemists, environmentalists, technicians, and engineers will be the professionals making breakthroughs in this industry. This laboratory experiment aims to introduce undergraduate students to the removal of pollutants from water…

Minimizing the energy consumption of desalination processes is an important goal for augmenting freshwater production and mitigating water scarcity. Chemical, civil, mechanical, and environmental engineering students can derive and analyze the energy consumption of desalination processes by applying engineering fundamentals such as thermodynamics,…

The design and operation of the vapor-absorption refrigerator (VAR) are described using the principles and tools typically covered in upper-division undergraduate physical chemistry courses. The objective is to enable students to understand in detail how this device works and how it compares with more typical vapor-compression refrigerators.…

Keto-enol tautomerism is a fundamental concept that examines the migration of a proton between two constitutional isomers, the keto and enol tautomer. Many experiments have been proposed to understand the concept behind Meyer's Rule, which states that the keto tautomer is favored as the solvent polarity increases. However, all the experiments have…

Molecules and Computer: Chemistry Calculations in Class (MC[superscript 4]) is a computational laboratory intended for final-year high school or undergraduate students. The topic is the antioxidant potential of anthocyanidins, which is chemically related to their radical scavenging action via the mechanism of hydrogen atom transfer (HAT). This…

This paper reports the development and application of a low-cost multifunctional webcam spectrophotometer for the conduct of molecular absorption and fluorometric measurements. The equipment, which costs approximately US$20 to be fabricated, consists of a webcam, a diffraction grating, and a slit, all positioned inside an MDF box. Spectral…

The alternative conceptions that students hold put a brake on subsequent meaningful learning, and therefore, the identification of these wrong ideas is crucial for effective teaching and academic success. Undergraduate STEM students often perceive Chemical Thermodynamics as a difficult subject, in which entropy has been pointed out as a threshold…