With the increase of waste paper, environmental pollution and atmospheric impact have become global problems. The cellulose contained in waste paper has the advantages of being renewable and biodegradable and can be applied to many fields to achieve sustainable development. At present, thermal management materials, as a new type of material, have…

Elemental analysis is performed in a variety of ways in food and environmental sciences; thus, we have designed an activity in which students gain experience with research-level lab techniques in a real-world context through the quantification of key elements in breakfast cereals using microwave plasma optical emission spectroscopy (MP-OES). The…

Raman scattering is a powerful tool for revealing the vibrations of molecules, but as a nonlinear optical phenomenon, its signals can change via mechanisms like resonance enhancement that have no direct analogue in infrared spectroscopy. In this work, complementary measurements conducted on 4-nitrophenol and its conjugate base allow students to…

There are plenty of contributions in the physics literature on the subject of standing waves. What seems to be missing is an accessible, quantitative account of standing waves on a circular path at a level appropriate for undergraduate physics courses. In order to rectify this absence, a straightforward, concise, mathematical description of…

Astronomy is one of the few sciences where the data (star-light) can be seen by all. Yet, there is a disconnect between a typical undergraduate lecture and, for example, where a planet may be in the sky and how to observe it. With the advent of moderate cost, high-quality 'back-garden' astronomy, and standard computers powerful enough to produce…

Structure--activity relationships are foundational concepts in biochemistry and drug design. Despite their importance, it can be difficult to create and execute laboratory activities that allow students to directly observe the interactions between small-molecule drugs and their biomolecular targets. Here, we report an activity that investigates…

Retrieval practice is an evidence-based approach to teaching; here, we evaluate the use of PeerWise for embedding retrieval practice into summative assessment. PeerWise allows anonymous authoring, sharing, answering, rating, and feedback on peer-authored multiple choice questions. PeerWise was embedded as a summative assessment in a large…

In recent years, single-subject experimental courses have not been able to meet the demands of the comprehensive development of life sciences. This study is based on two fundamental disciplines, molecular biology and metabolomics, with the analysis and intervention of tumor-related genes as the starting point. A comprehensive experimental course…

In this article we present a simple experimental set-up to determine the band gap of germanium and silicon using the "ExpEYES-17" kit. The experiment is based on the temperature dependence of the reverse current through germanium and silicon diodes at different temperatures. The experimental values are found to agree well with accepted…

A course centered around transition-metal catalysis in modern drug discovery was designed to illustrate the central role of organic chemistry in driving small-molecule drug development. The course highlighted both fundamental and applied concepts, first with a focus on the drug discovery process, followed by foundational principles in catalysis…

Research has shown that the use of practical examples in undergraduate education promotes the retention of historically underrepresented students in STEM majors and lowers achievement gaps within courses. Since many students of color and women aspire toward careers in healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry, efforts to incorporate medicinal…

Undergraduate physics laboratory exercises are very important in shaping students' attitude to science, especially for future teachers. Recently, it is necessary to look for ways to easily create large quantities of experimental sets, not only for institutional use, but also for sets that can be produced in large quantities and distributed for use…

Based on recent education reform guidelines to prepare professionals who are able to handle new technological, economic, social, and environmental challenges, pedagogical modifications are deemed necessary by the educators. Specifically, in biology, the rapid changes in the content and biological products demand changes in the curriculum. We aim…

In this article we present a simple technique for determination of the Young modulus of the material of a metallic ruler using it as a cantilever. This method employs with a slide potentiometer and a digital multimeter. The linear region of potentiometer resistance which is calibrated in terms of length has been used to record the load vs.…

Organic chemistry has been stigmatized as an unduly challenging subject throughout history. However, some undergraduate students excel in the subject when they attempt to understand the content rather than routine memorization. It is evident that rote memorization, a primary result of a student failing to understand the relevance of the material,…