Chromosomal aneuploidy, a deviation from an exact multiple of an organism's haploid chromosome number, is a difficult concept for students to master. Aneuploidy arising from chromosomal non-disjunction (NDJ) is particularly problematic for students, since it arises in the context of meiosis, itself a challenging subject. Students learning NDJ are…

Water is the ideal green solvent for organic reactions. However, most organic molecules are insoluble in it. Herein, we report a laboratory module that takes advantage of this property. The Passerini reaction, a three-component coupling involving an isocyanide, aldehyde, and carboxylic acid, typically requires [similar to] 24 h reaction times in…

Liquid chromatography (LC) experiments for the undergraduate analytical laboratory course often illustrate the application of reversed-phase LC to solve a separation problem, but rarely compare LC retention mechanisms. In addition, a high-performance liquid chromatography instrument may be beyond what some small colleges can purchase. Solid-phase…

We describe an alternative educational approach for an inorganic chemistry laboratory module named "Experimentation in Chemistry", which is included in Industrial Engineering and Chemical Engineering courses. The main aims of the new approach were to reduce the high levels of failure and dropout on the module and to make the content match the…

Preservice elementary education students often do not have a good feel for the process of science. Many may be acquainted with the steps of the scientific method but have never been through the scientific process. An exercise was designed using temperature-logging iButtons (Thermochrons) to improve knowledge of and familiarity with the process of…

A series of online interactive teaching units have been developed that illustrate the use of experimentally measured three-dimensional (3D) structures to teach fundamental chemistry concepts. The units integrate a 500-structure subset of the Cambridge Structural Database specially chosen for their pedagogical value. The units span a number of key…

A basic setup for data acquisition and analysis from an oscillatory circuit is described, with focus on its application as either low-pass, high-pass, band-pass or band-reject frequency filter. A homemade board containing the "RLC" elements allows for the interchange of some of them, in particular, for the easy change of the "R" value, and this…

Remote experimentation laboratories (REL) are systems based on real equipment that allow students to carry out a laboratory practice through the Internet on the computer. In engineering, there have been numerous initiatives to implement REL over recent years, given the fundamental role of laboratory activities. However, in the past efforts have…

The instructional design and the corresponding research on student learning of two virtual laboratories that provide an engineering task situated in an industrial context are described. In this problem-based learning environment, data are generated dynamically based on each student team's distinct choices of reactor parameters and measurements.…

The major challenge in laboratory teaching is the application of abstract concepts in simple and direct practical lessons. However, students rarely have the opportunity to participate in a laboratory that combines practical learning with a realistic research experience. In the Bioengineering Department, we started an experiential laboratory…

To overcome students' inaccurate prior knowledge on primary additive colours, a coloured-light mixer has been constructed to enable students to observe directly the colours produced and reach the conclusion by themselves that the three primary colours of light are red, green, and blue (NOT red, yellow, and blue). Three closely packed tiny…

An experiment is designed where students will be using both gold and silver nanoparticles to study the enhancement factors of organic molecules adsorbed to the surface of the nanoparticles during or after synthesis by using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The experiment has helped students learn about the theory and experimental…

Experiments suited for the undergraduate instructional laboratory in which the heats of formation of several aliphatic and aromatic compounds are calculated, are described. The experiments could be used to introduce students to commercially available computational chemistry and its thermodynamics, while assess and compare the energy content of…

We suggest the creation of a Global Web Laboratory (we call it "GloLab") for scientific purposes and teaching experiments online. In this article, we discuss the main principles and problems of building such a global Internet-laboratory. An example of a current working laboratory for teaching magnetism experiments online is also discussed.

With the continual growth and demand of online courses, higher education institutions are attempting to meet the needs of today's learners by modifying and developing new student centered services and programs. As a result, faculty members are being forced into teaching online, including Earth and Space science faculty. Online Earth and Space…