Over a decade has passed since faculty members' goals for the undergraduate chemistry instructional laboratory were first investigated on a large, national scale in the United States. This study revisits these goals, using data from a 2022 national survey of chemistry faculty members in the United States (n = 521) to investigate current…

Materials science research has expanded significantly in recent years; a multidisciplinary field, home to an ever-growing number of chemists. However, our general chemistry degree courses have not changed to reflect the rise in interest in this topic. In this paper, we propose a laboratory experiment for the undergraduate chemistry practical…

Chemistry in water is an emerging field that fulfills the fifth principle of green chemistry: replacing toxic organic solvents with their benign counterparts. Although some pharmaceutical industries have developed and adopted chemistry in water, its implementation in teaching laboratories is still limited. Therefore, we have designed an experiment…

This report presents an interdisciplinary approach used in undergraduate laboratory classes to bridge the gap between scientific advances, engineering efforts, and practical applications in daily life. The field of biointegrated electronics is highlighted as an excellent opportunity for building interdisciplinary learning models, leveraging…

This study introduces a modernized approach to classical volumetric titrations for the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. Leveraging smartphones and digital top-loading balances, we performed mass-based titrations and determined end points using digital color measurements. Our aim was to make classical wet chemistry more accessible and engaging…

Trace metals when present in crude oil or fuels are of economic significance in refining and to the combustion engines that use them. Herein, we develop a laboratory activity that trains students on how to analyze crude oil samples for ash and trace metal content while giving them the opportunity to acquire skills needed as a quality control…

The use of approximations in solving problems in sciences can be vital for students. Order of magnitude estimation also helps with physical understanding of the quantities involved in a calculation. For example, in the first exam in a first-year class in chemistry the student must find the mass in grams of an atom; a couple of students will…

A new method to determine a ternary phase diagram of benzene-acetic acid-water system is provided to upper-division undergraduate students. The partially miscible liquid phase region can be accurately constructed using isothermal titration microcalorimetry (ITC). Compared with the traditional visual method, ITC can provide precise data and more…

As an alternative to the traditional metallocene laboratory targets, students synthesize Cp[subscript 2]TiCl[subscript 2], bis([eta][superscript 5]-cyclopentadienyl)dichloridotitanium(IV), from the mildly moisture-sensitive cis-TiCl[subscript 4](thf)[subscript 2]. Air-free handling techniques are emphasized, but the (mostly) air-stable,…

Scanning probe microscopy such as atomic force microscopy has become increasingly integrated and relevant in undergraduate laboratory investigations. As the "hands and eyes of the nanoworld", atomic force microscopes (AFMs) continue to be used to innovate the nanowriting process for data storage and in the exploration of novel materials…

Mercury beating heart (MBH) is a well-known demonstration of redox processes. However, the development and application of the MBH system are significantly restricted due to its safety issues. Here, a direct current electric field-enabled gallium-based liquid metal heartbeat in a salt solution or alkaline solution is introduced as a demonstration…

Recently, two-dimensional (2D) nanostructures, such as graphene and few-layer MoS[subscript 2], have been applied to wide fields based on their intriguing performances, and they contribute to developments of clean energy, biomedicine, and environmental protection. The synthesis of 2D nanostructures involves chemistry, materials, and…

Fieldwork is a meaningful and authentic learning experience that is rarely included in undergraduate chemistry courses. In this laboratory, we visited a hot spot of perfluoroalkyl acid (PFAA) contamination identified in 2012, in Binbrook, Ontario, Canada, a 1 h drive from the University of Toronto. The persistence and unique environmental…

A laboratory activity was developed to teach freezing point depression and colligative properties to introductory-level chemistry students. The laboratory uses food-grade reagents and is delivered in two units that can be taught in a single 2 hour session or two separate sessions. The total cost of the consumables is 1 USD. In the first part of…

As data science and instrumentation become key practices in common careers ranging from medicine to agriscience, chemistry as a core introductory course must introduce such topics to students early and at an accessible level. Advanced data acquisition and data science generally require expensive precision instrumentation and massive computation,…