This article describes the use of a comprehensive demonstration suitable for a high school or first-year undergraduate introductory chemistry class. The demonstration involves placing a burning candle in a container adjacent to a beaker containing a basic solution with indicator. After adding a lid, the candle will extinguish and the produced…

Three and a half centuries ago, a five-year experiment was conducted involving the growth of a willow tree in a pot which received only water. The conclusion, that a tree is therefore made solely from water, was not so ridiculous when there was still general acceptance of the Aristotelian view of only four "elements": water, earth, fire and air.…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the carbon dioxide emissions associated with electric, HVAC, and hot water use from a US university. Design/methodology/approach: First, the total on-campus electrical, natural gas and oil consumption for an entire year was assessed. For each category of energy use, the carbon associated with…

Because they are dramatic and intriguing, chemiluminescence demonstrations have been used for decades to stimulate interest in chemistry. One of the most intense chemiluminescent reactions is the oxidation of diaryl oxalate diesters with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a fluorescer. In typical lecture demonstrations, the commercially…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the efforts undertaken to convert the large university campus of Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) into a green, resource-efficient and low-carbon campus by following an action-oriented strategy. Sustainability features of the campus were discussed and benchmarked. Challenges were…

Easily recoverable, thumb-sized pieces of high-density dry ice are conveniently produced by deposition of carbon dioxide within a test tube submerged in liquid nitrogen. A carbon dioxide-filled balloon sealed over the mouth of the test tube serves as a gas reservoir, and further permits a dramatic demonstration of both the gas-to-solid phase…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the impact of a competition-based intervention combining high-resolution electricity feedback, incentives, information and prompts on college dormitory residents' energy consumption and participation in demand response events. The authors also investigated changes in individual-level…

Topics commonly taught in a general chemistry course can be used to calculate the quantity of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by various human activities. Each calculation begins with the balanced chemical equation for the reaction that produces the CO[subscript 2] gas. Stoichiometry, thermochemistry, the ideal gas law, and dimensional…

Part I: Students' participation in inquiry-based chemistry laboratory curricula, and, in particular, engagement with key thinking processes in conjunction with these experiences, is linked with success at the difficult task of "transfer"--applying their knowledge in new contexts to solve unfamiliar types of problems. We investigate…

Using survey data, the authors developed an architecture of climate change beliefs in Norway and their correlation with support for policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A strong majority of respondents believe that anthropogenic climate change is occurring and identify carbon dioxide emissions as a cause. Regression analysis shows…

Measuring the heat capacity ratios, [gamma], of gases either through adiabatic expansion or sound velocity is a well established physical chemistry experiment. The most accurate experiments depend on an exact determination of sound origin, which necessitates the use of lasers or a wave generator, where time zero is based on an electrical trigger.…

In this article, we describe an experiment for the undergraduate physical chemistry laboratory in which students measure the compressibility factor of two gases, helium and carbon dioxide, as a function of pressure at constant temperature. The experimental apparatus is relatively inexpensive to construct and is described and diagrammed in detail.…

This article presents the development of a carbon dioxide fountain. The advantages of the carbon dioxide fountain are that it is odorless and uses consumer chemicals. This experiment also is a nice visual experiment that allows students to see evidence of a gaseous reagent being consumed when a pressure sensor is available. (Contains 3 figures.)…

Potassium dioxide, KO[subscript 2], (potassium superoxide) is an important compound owing to its ability to react with carbon dioxide to produce oxygen. This unique ability is employed to design rebreathing devices for submarines, space vehicles, and space suits. "Rebreathers" for firefighters and miners have also been designed using potassium…

This study aimed at finding out how young children express their thinking about some of the themes in the early-grades school science curriculum. Foundation-phase children at a primary school in Soweto, Johannesburg, were interviewed after they had watched classroom demonstrations of the production of carbon dioxide gas, absorption of water and…