In this article, the authors analyze data accumulated over 10+ years of teaching market interaction using a simple classroom experiment. The experiment is designed to teach first-year undergraduate students the basics of supply and demand and market efficiency. In total, they analyze data from 85 teaching sessions and 243 individual markets. They…

The autumnal leaf color change is a familiar phenomenon to most students living in temperate climate zones. The extraction and analysis of the pigments of the autumn leaves provide an engaging way to study the phenomenon utilizing both simple as well as more sophisticated analytical methods. In this laboratory experiment, students extract the red…

We describe a guided-inquiry laboratory experiment for instrumental analysis in which our students test an improved protocol for the recycling of silver chloride to produce nontoxic waste. Students are provided with samples of silver chloride that they created as waste products in a previous lab experiment and tasked with performing a stepwise…

The article introduces a low-cost Arduino sensor into the Young's modulus determination laboratory for physics university students. A stainless steel ruler is used as a cantilever beam. Its free end attached a mass is slightly bent and released to make it oscillate as a simple harmonic motion. The Arduino sensor detects the moving mass's frequency…

Food safety science is an important field due to its practical applications in maintaining public safety and confidence in consumer goods. A significant component of food safety science is the detection and regulation of heavy metals in food. Heavy metals such as mercury (Hg) are of particular concern because of their potential to damage the…

The switch to online learning required a creative solution to allow for the experiential learning outcomes of the program to be satisfied when access to physical spaces and equipment was restricted. This paper describes a collaborative process between technical and support staff as well as research and teaching faculty that led to the creation of…

Active learning pedagogies offer opportunities to increase student engagement and interest in plants. The Mystery Plant Project is a hands-on, semester-long active learning pedagogy I developed for an introductory, undergraduate Plant Biology course. Students investigate various aspects of their mystery plant species using observations, and…

The practical two-step synthesis of 1-phenylthiourea is reported here as an undergraduate experiment for the organic synthesis laboratory. The reactions involved in 1-phenylthiourea preparation are very useful didactic examples to illustrate concepts relating to carbonyl substitution and addition, the effect of pH on solubility of organic…

There has been dramatic growth in interest and research regarding organic photochromism in recent decades. Despite this, the topic is seldom addressed in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. Herein, we present a straightforward and robust experiment for the second semester organic chemistry laboratory curriculum which combines multistep…

Surface chemistry impacts technology, advancing the development of new heterogeneous catalysts, semiconductor devices, and materials synthesis. Carbon surfaces are ubiquitous in various fields, and the surface reactivity can be altered by surface functionalization on the molecular scale, introducing functional groups, thus shifting their…

Exposure to real-life applications of quantitative analysis techniques based on two gas chromatography (GC) experiments was provided to a large cohort of sophomore-level students. In one experiment, students assessed blood alcohol content by internal standardization using a homemade headspace system similar to methods implemented in forensic…

The undergraduates in the major of Environmental Science and Environmental Engineering frequently ignored the importance of identifying pollution sources for water environment monitoring and knew little about the techniques of identifying pollution sources. Thus, a laboratory experiment which focused on pollution sources identification in a water…

Accuracy and precision are measures of experimental error and are fundamental to most chemical analysis laboratory classes. Assessment of accuracy and precision is often based on the comprehension of the results generated by students rather than on the quality of the data generated. This activity focused on developing a chemical analysis…

The process of method development is at the heart of analytical chemistry, yet direct experimental experience with the process is rarely taught in the undergraduate laboratory. We report here an experiment that uses rapid, safe, and inexpensive paper-based microfluidics with cell phone detection in order to facilitate the development of a…

A new system for tracking a metal ball rolling on the slope of the touch panel of a tablet computer was developed. The widespread introduction of tablets in educational environments allows the use of a convenient dynamic measurement in schools.