Photography is one of the few fine art forms that were initially developed by scientists such as Herschel and Talbot; however, in the modern chemistry curriculum, photography has become divorced from its scientific beginnings and resides in the studio arts department of most universities. An upper-level undergraduate experiment is described in…

A cost-effective, hands-on laboratory exercise is described for demonstrating nanoscale fabrication at non-research-based educational institutions. The laboratory exercise also contains a component involving qualitative and quantitative surface characterization of student-fabricated nanoscale structures at institutions with on-site access to an…

The interpretation of data and construction and understanding of graphs are central practices in science; therefore, an important skill needed in the undergraduate physics laboratory is the ability to analyze data obtained from experiments. Often students are not able to reach logical deductions based on data, acquired from the experiments that…

Using an ALTA II reflectance spectrometer, the USGS digital spectral library, graphs of planetary spectra, and a few mineral hand samples, one can teach how light can be used to study planets and moons. The author created the hands-on, inquiry-based activity for an undergraduate planetary science course consisting of freshman to senior level…

Two new semiquantitative green chemistry metrics, the green circle and the green matrix, have been developed for quick assessment of the greenness of a chemical reaction or process, even without performing the experiment from a protocol if enough detail is provided in it. The evaluation is based on the 12 principles of green chemistry. The…

Chemoselectivity is a central concept in organic synthesis and may be readily appreciated in the context of the fragrant, polyfunctional natural product citral. We describe three single-step reactions students may perform on citral to synthesize other natural perfumes: citronellal, geraniol, nerol, or epoxycitral. Each of the reactions uses a…

In recent years, there has been an explosion of research concerning the area of organocatalysis. A multistep capstone laboratory project that combines traditional reactions frequently found in organic laboratory curriculums with this new field of research is described. In this experiment, the students synthesize a prolinamide-based organocatalyst…

SIPCAn, an acronym for separation, isolation, purification, characterization, and analysis, is presented as a one-term, integrated project for the first-term undergraduate organic laboratory course. Students are assigned two mixtures of unknown organic compounds--a mixture of two liquid compounds and a mixture of two solid compounds--at the…

Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) is the measurement of the heat produced by the stepwise addition of one substance to another. It is a common experimental technique, for example, in pharmaceutical science, to measure equilibrium constants and reaction enthalpies. We describe a stirring device and an injection pump that can be used with a…

A multistep experiment for an advanced synthesis lab course that incorporates topics in organic-inorganic synthesis and catalysis and highlights green chemistry principles was developed. Students synthesized two "N"-heterocyclic carbene ligands, used them to prepare two well-defined copper(I) complexes and subsequently utilized the complexes as…

Exopolysaccharide (EPS) production by the rhizobacterium "Sinorhizobium meliloti" is essential for root nodule formation on its legume host (alfalfa), and for establishment of a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis between the two partners. Production of EPS II (galactoglucan) by certain "S. meliloti" strains results in a mucoid colony…

A student achievable synthesis of bisphenol Z, 4,4'-(cyclohexane-1,1-diyl)diphenol, from the acid-catalyzed reaction of phenol with cyclohexanone is presented. The experiment exemplifies all the usual pedagogy for the standard topic of electrophilic aromatic substitution present in the undergraduate organic chemistry curriculum, while providing…

In this experiment, students individually conduct one of several variations of an E2 dehydrohalogenation reaction on a cyclohexyl halide substrate for 30 min, which is sufficient only for a partial reaction to occur. The variations examine reaction conditions including different leaving groups, decreased reaction temperature, or reduced base…

A 3-week laboratory module was developed for an undergraduate microbiology course that would connect student learning to a real-life challenge, specifically a local water-quality project. The laboratory series included multiple field trips, sampling of soil and water, and subsequent analysis for bacteria and nitrate. Laboratory results confirmed…

The purpose of this experiment is to provide students with the essential skills and knowledge required to perform the extraction, isolation, and structural elucidation of parthenolide from "Tanacetum parthenium" or feverfew. Students are introduced to a background of the traditional medicinal uses of parthenolide, while more modern applications of…