Classroom demonstrations and activities are used to illustrate the properties of enantiomer. During this activity, in a relatively short time students develop a working knowledge of the importance of stereochemistry in biochemistry and its effect on drug design and metabolism.

Application of concepts presented in organic chemistry lecture using a virtual project involving the sythesis of medicinally important compounds is emphasized. The importance of reinforcing the concepts from lecture in lab, thus providing a powerful instructional means is discussed.

Green chemistry is the awareness of the damaging environmental effects due to chemical research and inventions. There is emphasis on a need to include green chemistry in synthesis with atom economy in organic chemistry curriculum to ensure an environmentally conscious future generation of chemists, policy makers, health professionals and business…

Thalidomide is the molecule of the month for July 2004 in the Journal of Chemical Education. In addition to enantiospecific reactivity, the thalidomide is considered as a good subject for discussion.

Letters from students, serve to enhance the insight toward students at a personal level while adding a familiar form and friendly voice to the classroom community. The biographical letter and study-skill letter are the two sets of students' letters discussed. It is found that one needs to know one's student better versus the time needed for this…

The two student centered learning methods, concept checks and just-in-time teaching were tested. While both the methods were found to be valuable for active participation of the student in his or her education, just-in-time was perhaps more effective from the point of view of getting the student to prepare ahead of the next lecture and in the…

Undergraduate research is an important learning experience for students and at small teaching-centered institutions with limited resources, research opportunities on campus can be insufficient to accommodate all interested students. However, to encourage these students to apply for such opportunities, a model that involves establishing partnership…

On equilibrium properties of aqueous solutions of sulfuric acid, Julius Thomsen has marked that the heat evolved on diluting liquid sulfuric acid with water is a continuous function of the water used, and excluded absolutely the acceptance of definite hydrates as existing in the solution. Information about thermochemical measurement, a discussion…

Mathematical language and chemical knowledge are complementary to each other and only productive use of the two enables using numbers to gain solutions rather than just answers. It is believed to be important in the understanding of science that students feel free to speak mathematics and only a few of them are willing to connect and use their…

It is suggested that molecular theory should be taught earlier in the inorganic chemistry curriculum even in the introductory chemistry course in order to integrate molecular orbital arguments more effectively throughout the curriculum. The method of teaching relies on having access to molecular modeling software as having access to such software…

Conformational analysis of cyclohexanes is a fundamental, requisite topic covered in undergraduate organic chemistry. A molecular modeling experiment is designed with the view of extending students' boundaries of knowledge about cyclohexane conformational stabilities.

A group of techniques aimed at synthesizing a large number of structurally diverse compounds is called combinatorial synthesis. Synthesis of chemiluminescence esters using parallel combinatorial synthesis and mix-and-split combinatorial synthesis is experimented.

Experiments are conducted for spectroscopic analysis of the allyl esters of some aromatic carboxylic acids. It is understood that these experiments allow the students to monitor the effect of hydrogen bonding on the IR stretching frequencies for the hydroxyl and carbonyl groups and also provide them with an excellent opportunity to examine the…

Epoxide chemistry is widely used in organic synthesis and regularly discussed in organic chemistry textbooks. An experiment to generate dimethyldioxirane in situ from acetone using Oxone is explained.

High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) is the preferred method of separating a variety of materials in complex mixtures such as pharmaceuticals, polymers, soils, food products and biological fluids and is also considered to be a powerful analytical tool in both academia and industry. The use of HPLC analysis as a means of monitoring and…