Herein, we present an experience-based learning approach that uses the COVID-19 pandemics knowledge about virus spread and epidemics to establish an analogy between a simple epidemics model--the SIR model (susceptible--infected--removed), and a second-order autocatalytic reaction with subsequent catalyst deactivation. Our approach provides a…

In this work, two exercises are described that are designed to teach students about the evolution and behavior of the electronic bands of graphene and bilayer graphene. These exercises involve performing extended Hückel molecular orbital theory calculations on polyacenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In the first exercise, students…

Graduate students play a critical role in undergraduate education at doctoral-granting institutions and yet their training is often brief and overgeneralized. Little is known about how they develop knowledge for teaching chemistry in this context. To further understand how graduate students develop knowledge for teaching, we used a questionnaire…

"Escape ClassRoom "CSI 1.0"" is an educational escape room proposed as an interactive analytical chemistry exercise for the evaluation of undergraduate students at the end of the subject. This approach is a new form of live action learning activity in which the students have to solve an analytical problem, namely, "an…

In recent decades, technology has become a constant presence in the chemistry classroom with online homework extensively used in many programs. Although research has pointed to both increased course performance and better study habits in classes that utilize online homework, little work has explored the extraneous load that these platforms place…

Flavonoids have been studied extensively for their antioxidant properties. Specifically, the flavonoids in tea, such as catechin and epigallocatechin gallate, have been shown to have positive health effects. These compounds are also oxidizable, so the concentrations of these compounds in a given kind of tea can be determined using cyclic…

Glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is the most widely used herbicide on earth. A simple assay to quantify glyphosate concentrations in environmental samples was developed as part of an interdisciplinary effort linking introductory laboratory courses in chemistry, biology, and microbiology. In this 3 h laboratory experiment, students used…

Students collect magnetic susceptibility data to verify that Hund's rule correctly predicts electronic configurations. Systems examined include three commercially available lanthanide(III)-containing complexes of the form M(acac)[subscript 3](H[subscript 2]O)[subscript 2] (where M = La(III), Nd(III), and Gd(III), and acac denotes the [CH[subscript…

A laboratory experiment is described in which students determine the concentration and speciation of iron in beer samples using cloud point extraction and absorbance spectroscopy. The basis of determination is the complexation between iron and 2-(5-bromo-2- pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (5-Br-PADAP) as a colorimetric reagent in an aqueous…

The convenient synthesis of dihydroberberine by the reduction of berberine is described as an experiment for an upper-division undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory course. Students obtained up to 74% yield of the desired pure product without the use of chromatographic techniques. The antimicrobial activities of both compounds against…

In an ongoing effort to increase student retention and success in the undergraduate general chemistry course sequence, a fully online preparatory chemistry course was developed and implemented at a large public research university. To gain insight about the efficacy of the online course, an observational study was carried out in which student…

An experimental procedure is presented that was developed by fifth-year chemical engineering and industrial chemistry undergraduates at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro doing the discipline on Experimental Organic Technology. The aim of this study was to apply the solvatochromic effect of the dye Nile Blue chloride to the characterization…

To promote the integration of aesthetic education into chemistry education, this study designed activities to photograph precipitation reaction experiments with a smartphone, thereby combining experimental inquiry with artistic creation across disciplines. These activities were divided into (i) perceiving, (ii) appreciating, (iii) exploring, and…

A comparison of the experiences of both organic and analytical lab faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic distance learning initiative is described here. Faculty of both lab courses experienced four shared challenges in the transition to the online format: (1) experimental implementation; (2) assessments and postlab activities; (3) technological…

Effective assessment is an extremely important area of chemistry education. Typically tests measure students' knowledge of critical thinking skills, chemistry vocabulary, and application of concepts from one chapter to another. While it is relatively straightforward to measure concepts such as chemical vocabulary and algorithmic problem solving…