A variety of fruits and vegetables, including raspberries, blueberries, Concord grapes, blackberries, strawberries, peaches, eggplant, red cabbage, and red onions, contain flavonoid compounds known as anthocyanins that are responsible for the blue-red color and the astringent taste associated with such foods. In addition, anthocyanins exhibit a…

A simple and ecofriendly procedure was developed in order to prepare extracts from red and green leaves. This procedure enables the separation of yellow, green, and red band pigments and optimizes the previously reported baking soda "supermarket column". The same extract also led to a novel and colorful potato starch column, which can…

This article demonstrates how to make a low-cost ethanol burner utilizing soda cans. It burns with a light blue flame suitable for out-of-laboratory flame test demonstrations where interference from a yellow flame needs to be avoided.

Counterfeiting and adulteration of prescription drugs, herbal products, and food supplements are a global challenge, causing serious economic loss to drug marketers and health implications for humans. Accordingly, accurate determination of the purity of pharmaceuticals is critical for the quality assurance of prescription drugs. Herein, the first…

A discovery chemistry laboratory has been developed for the introductory organic chemistry student to investigate the concepts of polarity, miscibility, solubility, and density. The simple procedure takes advantage of the solubility of two colored dyes in a series of solvents or solvent mixtures, and the diffusion of colors can be easily…

Although metal spatulas are damaged through everyday use and become discolored and corroded by chemical exposure, plastic drinking straws are inexpensive, sterile, and disposable, reducing the risk of cross-contamination during laboratory procedures. Drinking straws are also useful because they come in a variety of sizes; narrow sample containers…

Two methods for the extraction of maltol from Fraser fir needles are performed and compared in this two-week experiment. A traditional benchtop extraction using dichloromethane is compared to a microwave-assisted extraction using aqueous ethanol. Students perform both procedures and weigh the merits of each technique. In doing so, students see a…

A guided inquiry laboratory experiment for teaching liquid/liquid extractions to first semester undergraduate organic chemistry students is described. This laboratory is particularly useful for introductory students as the analytes that are separated are highly colored dye molecules. This allows students to track into which phase each analyte…

In this study, an adsorption experiment is proposed using commercial activated carbon as adsorbent and a textile azo dye, Mordant Blue-9, as adsorbate. The surface chemistry of the activated carbon is changed through a simple oxidation treatment and the ionic strength of the dye solution is also modified, simulating distinct conditions of water…

In this article, we present two concrete applications of the concept of the human element to chemistry education; starting with a course and experimental project on blue pigment synthesis and concluding with cross-disciplinary lessons and experiments on blue photography. In addition to the description of the content of these courses, we explore…

Laboratory-based courses require students to compose reports based on the performed experiments to assess their overall understanding of the presented material; unfortunately, the sterile and formulated nature of the laboratory report disinterests most students. As a result, the outcome is a lower-quality product that does not reveal full…

An assignment incorporating posters into a second-year analytical chemistry lab is described. Students work in groups and are assigned one of the application-themed weekly laboratories as a topic. Course data acquired for these weekly laboratories are compiled into spreadsheets that the poster group then analyzes to present in an on-campus poster…

Magnetic stirrers and hot plates are key components of science laboratories. However, these are not readily available in many developing countries due to their high cost. This article describes the design of a low-cost magnetic stirrer with hot plate from recycled materials. Some of the materials used are neodymium magnets and CPU fans from…

A syringe-based, electronic fluid dispenser is described. The device mechanically connects a syringe plunger to a linear slide potentiometer. As the syringe plunger moves, the electrical resistance between terminals of the potentiometer varies. Application and subsequent measurement of a DC voltage between the potentiometer pins is used to track…

There is a dearth of base-stable reference electrodes that are suitable for use by students in a teaching laboratory or undergraduate research context. To remedy this, we have developed a technique to produce reference electrodes suitable for alkaline environments. By utilizing components of a commercially available alkaline-type battery, an…