Arsenic is a toxic element to which humans are primarily exposed through food and water; it occurs as a result of human activities and naturally from the earth's crust. An experiment was developed for a senior level analytical laboratory utilizing an Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) for the analysis of arsenic in household…

Transition metals play an important role in many biological processes, however, they are also toxic at high concentrations. Therefore, the uptake and efflux of these metals must be tightly regulated by the cell. Bacteria have evolved a variety of pathways and regulatory systems to monitor the presence and concentration of metals in the cellular…

The objective of our program is to foster and facilitate authentic research experiences in middle and high school science courses. We do so by providing students with a complete experience in scientific experimentation and communication. The centerpiece is a set of experiment modules in which students investigate the effects of toxic chemicals on…

Pesticide exposure represents a significant occupational health hazard for farmworkers, and handwashing is one strategy to reduce exposure via the dermal route. After learning about recent research findings regarding the lack of handwashing utilized by North Carolina farmworkers in the field, the North Carolina Farmworker Health Program approached…

Public school facilities primarily serve an educational role, and they also serve a civic role as voting places and emergency shelters. School districts collectively spend tens of billions of dollars each year on facilities construction needs at the nearly 100,000 K-12 public schools nationwide. About half (an estimated 54 percent) of public…

The purpose of the National Conference was for attendees to: (1) Review research and policy recommendations and goals identified at the November 2015 "Environmental Health at School: Ignored Too Long" panel and facilitated workshop; (2) Hear about risks and exposures at schools and their impact on children; (3) Understand the Centers for…

Problems associated with the environment loom large over the future well-being of young generations. A previous issue of PISA in Focus (PISA in Focus 87) shows that in 2015 many 15-year-old students believed that the future -- their future -- was going to be worse, environmentally, than the present. In particular, only a minority of students…

We present a collection of hands-on experiments that collectively teach precollege students fundamental concepts of polymer synthesis and characterization. These interactive experiments are performed annually as part of an all-day outreach event for high school students that can inform the development of ongoing polymer education efforts in a…

UMaine Cooperative Extension is the primary educational delivery organization for pesticide recertification credits in Maine. Shrinking budgets and staff numbers are making traditional face-to-face delivery increasingly difficult to maintain. To address this issue, on-line pesticide applicator recertification training credits were developed. The…

The general objective of this study was to analyze the development and implementation process of a waste management project (WMP) at a public school in the city of Porto Alegre in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, that offers a course for chemistry technicians. To that end, an initial diagnostic analysis of the commonly produced waste from…

Globalization would appear to be a subject that easily could be addressed in geography classrooms, yet this is not always the case. In terms of pedagogy, many geographers are concerned whether the field has been adequately engaging various components of this topic (e.g., connectivity, core-periphery), especially in terms of making the subject…

The synthesis of nanomicelles in the aqueous phase on the basis of nonhazardous detergents is described where azulene and a naphthalene tetracarboximide are used in this experiment to teach the relation between structural and optical properties of organic compounds and point out possible applications. The experiment covers many aspects of…

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a process commonly used for the synthesis of thin films for several important technological applications, for example, microelectronics, hard coatings, and smart windows. Unfortunately, the complexity and prohibitive cost of CVD equipment makes it seldom available for undergraduate chemistry students. Here, a…

This article proposes a competence-based learning framework for science teaching, applied to the study of "big ideas", in this case to the study of natural hazards and disaster risk reduction (NH&DRR). The framework focuses on new visions of competence, placing emphasis on nurturing connectedness and behavioral actions toward…

Energy drinks, as familiar consumer products, have been widely used in laboratory courses to help promote student interest, as well as to connect lecture concepts with laboratory work. Energy drinks contain B vitamins: pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and riboflavin (vitamin B2) of which amounts are high enough to be of concern. In this work, a fast and…