The low-resolution mass spectrum of integral masses is used to determine the number of bromine and chlorine atoms in an organic compound. The chlorine rule is a tool suitable for use in structural determinations in first year organic chemistry and it is supported by the ability of sophomore-level students to successfully determine n and m from the…

A simple, qualitative experiment is developed for implementation, where the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) plays an important role, into the laboratory curriculum of a chemistry course designed for nonscience majors. This laboratory experiment is well suited for the students as it helps them to determine the validity of their…

Quantification of a contaminant in water provides the first-year general chemistry students with a tangible application of mass spectrometry. The relevance of chemistry to assessing and solving environmental problems is highlighted for students when they perform mass spectroscopy experiments.

The simultaneous determination of cadmium and lead by multi-element atomic absorption spectrometry with electrochemical atomization is proposed by employing a problem-based approach. The reports indicate that the students assimilated the principles of the simultaneous atomic absorption spectrometry (SIMAAS), the role of the chemical modifier, the…

A novel instrumental-digestion technique using pressure-assisted chelating extraction (PACE), for undergraduate laboratory is reported. This procedure is used for exposing students to safe sample-preparation techniques, for correlating wet-chemical methods with modern instrumental analysis and comparing the performance of PACE with conventional…

The differences in the levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), in the ambient air from the two urban locations, were studied by the undergraduate analytical chemistry students. Tetraglyme is very widely used due to its simplicity and its potential for use to investigate VOCs in ambient and indoor air employing a purge-and-trap concentrator…

Green chemistry is the utilization of a set of principles that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of chemical products. Some of the philosophical questions and practical decisions that have guided the greening of the organic chemistry laboratory at Hendrix College in…

Complexes of pyrazole-derived ligands are very popular due to the ability of the pyrazolato anion to form bridged polymetallic compounds in which the metals are held close enough to react with small molecules or facilitate magnetic exchange. The preparation of monodentate pyrazole and 3,5-dimethylpyrazole (DMHpz) nickel species and the…

The potassium salt is an easy product to synthesize in an introductory course on inorganic chemistry and the students are required to prepare this product in order to improve their laboratory skills and as an introduction to the synthesis of coordination compounds. The complex potassium tris (oxalato) ferrate (III) is used to illustrate the…

An introductory undergraduate physical organic chemistry exercise that introduces the harmonic oscillator's use in vibrational spectroscopy is developed. The analysis and modeling exercise begins with the students calculating the stretching modes of common organic molecules with the help of the quantum mechanical harmonic oscillator (QMHO) model.

A study of the vibrational spectroscopy of the cis and trans isomers of 1,2-dichloroethylene provides an excellent opportunity to learn the applications group theory in laboratories. The necessity of using infrared (IR) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy in making full vibrational assignments is illustrated.

The effects of the detailed balance on chemical kinetics on the chemical monomolecular triangle reactions are illustrated. A simple experiment that illustrates oscillations, limit cycles, bifurcations and noise are illustrated along with the oscillating reactions.

An algorithm is developed to study and understand the behavior of chain copolymerization reactions. When a binary copolymerization reaction follows the terminal model, Conversion is able to predict the evolution of different parameters, such as instantaneous and cumulative copolymer molar fractions, or molar fractions of any sequence with the…

The feasibility and practical use of teaching philosophy-based critical thinking to undergraduate chemistry students are investigated. The successful outcome of teaching basic logical concepts in chemistry, as measured by students' ability to assess the validity of chemical reasoning on one hand and student satisfaction on the other, is reported.

Internet-based undergraduate research provides geographical flexibility and the removal of distance barriers, promotes diversity and interdisciplinary partnership. The data obtained from the undergraduate research project demonstrate that it is feasible to engage undergraduates using Internet-based synchronous video communication.