The Arduino microcontroller is currently one of the favorite tools of makers, and many teachers have used it in teaching or experiments. In addition, light-emitting diode (LED) smart lighting is the worldwide trend in lighting. There are many teaching demonstrations or applications of color addition using LEDs. Furthermore, the Internet of Things…

Single slit diffraction and the thermal expansion of materials are common components of an undergraduate physics course, though these topics are often taught independently in both lectures and laboratory based courses. Higher levels of cognitive domains can be achieved by building on these established topics and combining them into a single…

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.…

A spreadsheet-based exercise for students is described in which they are challenged to explain and reproduce the disparate temperature dependencies of the heat capacities of gaseous F[subscript 2] and N[subscript 2]. For F[subscript 2], C[subscript p,m] increases from 300 K, reaches a maximum at 2200 K, and then decreases to 74% of the maximum…

This study has proposed a simple method to show the convective heat transfer. The object in this study is an air conditioner (AC) as a simple case of convection. In addition, AC is also easy to find in the class because most classrooms in Indonesia installed AC. Usually, a visualization needs special software (i.e. MatLab or others) and good…

Connecting the thermodynamic definition of entropy, dS = dQ/T (Clausius's equation), with the statistical definition, S = k[subscript B] ln [omega] (Boltzmann's equation), has been a persistent challenge in chemical education at the undergraduate level. Not meeting this challenge results in students taking away the meaning of entropy in a vague…

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…

A low-cost alternative to the typical scientific laboratory water bath or a hot plate stirrer water bath is proposed. Readily available immersion circulators have been developed for sous vide cooking. These precision cookers are designed to maintain water at an exact temperature and thus are well-suited for the similar laboratory requirements of a…

Project-based learning has been shown to be an effective pedagogical strategy that motivates students and thus promotes learning. In this article we describe a project-based unit centered on the physics of solar cookers (Fig. 1 and 3). Our goal was to elevate the solar cooker from a summer camp activity to a college-level project that could be…

Using everyday life examples is proven didactically useful for teaching physics, as it presents effective applications of physical laws. Cooking and food, in particular, serve two useful purposes: on one side, they are able to engage students in the study of physics with familiar examples; on the other side, thanks to the wide range of physical…

Thermogravimetry coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) is a useful technique for the thermal and structural characterization of materials at academic and research levels. This paper describes an experiment for chemistry students to understand the use of TG-FTIR for advanced qualitative and quantitative thermal analysis…

The strongly exothermic nature of reactions between molecular oxygen and all organic molecules as well as many other substances is explained in simple, general terms. The double bond in O[subscript 2] is much weaker than other double bonds or pairs of single bonds, and therefore the formation of the stronger bonds in CO[subscript 2] and…

The article focuses on the process of water warming from 0 °C in a glass. An experiment is performed that analyzes the temperature in the top and bottom layers of water during warming. The experimental equipment is very simple and can be easily set up using devices available in schools. The temperature curves obtained from the experiment help us…

Coffee cup calorimetry, performed with calorimeters made with styrofoam coffee cups, is a familiar experiment in the general chemistry laboratory. These calorimeters are inexpensive, easy to use, and provide good insulation for most thermodynamics experiments. This paper presents the successful substitution of paper coffee cups for styrofoam cups…

In the typical "cookbook" experiment comparing the radiation absorption rates of different colored surfaces, students' hands are commonly used as a measurement instrument to demonstrate that dull black and silvery surfaces are good and poor absorbers of radiation, respectively. However, college students are often skeptical about using…