Several articles suggest how to incorporate computer models into the organic chemistry laboratory, but relatively few papers discuss how to incorporate these models broadly into the organic chemistry lecture. Previous research has suggested that "manipulating" physical or computer models enhances student understanding; this study…

A two-semester second-year introductory organic chemistry sequence featuring one semester of accelerated organic chemistry followed by one semester of bioorganic chemistry is described. Assessment data collected over a six-year period reveal that such a course sequence can facilitate student mastery of fundamental organic chemistry in the first…

Developing fluency across symbolic-, macroscopic-, and particulate-level representations is central to learning chemistry. Within the chemistry education community, animations and simulations that support multi-representational fluency are considered critical. With advances in the accessibility and sophistication of technology,…

An activity supporting the PhET interactive simulation, Models of the Hydrogen Atom, has been designed and used in the laboratory portion of a general chemistry course. This article describes the framework used to successfully accomplish implementation on a large scale. The activity guides students through a comparison and analysis of the six…

A 45 MHz benchtop NMR spectrometer is used to identify the structures and determine the amount of 1-bromoethylbenzene and 1,1-dibromoethylbenzene produced from free-radical bromination of ethylbenzene. The experiment is designed for nonchemistry majors, specifically B.S. Biology students, in a predominantly undergraduate institution with…

When organic chemistry students encounter competing reactions, they are often overwhelmed by the task of evaluating multiple factors that affect the outcome of a reaction. The use of a decision tree is a useful tool to teach students to evaluate a complex situation and propose a likely outcome. Specifically, a decision tree can help students…

SCILAB is a lesser-known program (than MATLAB) for numeric simulations and has the advantage of being free software. A challenging software-based activity to analyze the most common linear reversible inhibition types with SCILAB is described. Students establish typical values for the concentration of enzyme, substrate, and inhibitor to simulate…

A 3D printer is used to prepare a variety of models representing potential energy as a function of two geometric coordinates. These models facilitate the teaching of structure-energy relationships in molecular conformations and in chemical reactions.

Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, is gaining popularity in a variety of applications and has recently become routinely available. Today, 3D printing services are not only found in engineering design labs and through online companies, but also in university libraries offering student access. In addition, affordable options for…

The Holy Cross Chemistry Department has designed and implemented an experiment on buffers as part of our Discovery Chemistry curriculum. The pedagogical philosophy of Discovery Chemistry is to make the laboratory the focal point of learning for students in their first two years of undergraduate instruction. We first pose questions in prelaboratory…

Tangible models help students and researchers visualize chemical structures in three dimensions (3D). 3D printing offers a unique and straightforward approach to fabricate plastic 3D models of molecules and extended solids. In this article, we prepared a series of digital 3D design files of molecular structures that will be useful for teaching…

Ion exchange chromatography is an important technique in the separation of charged species, particularly in biological, inorganic, and environmental samples. In this experiment, students are supplied with a mixture of two substitution-inert complex ions. They separate the complexes by ion exchange chromatography using a "flash"…

An efficient laboratory experiment has been developed for undergraduate students to conduct hydrogen-deuterium (H-D) exchange of resorcinol by electrophilic aromatic substitution using D[subscript 2]O and a catalytic amount of H[subscript 2]SO[subscript 4]. The resulting labeled product is characterized by [superscript 1]H NMR. Students also…

A laboratory experiment that introduces fluorometry of chlorophyll "a" at the general chemistry level is described. The use of thin-layer chromatography to isolate chlorophyll "a" from spirulina and leaf matter enables quantification of small amounts of chlorophyll "a" via fluorometry. Student results were reasonably…

A laboratory exercise is described that helps students learn about lipid self-assembly by making vesicles under different solution conditions. Concepts covering the chemical properties of different lipids, the dynamics of lipids, and vesicle stability are explored. Further, the described protocol is easy and cheap to implement. One to two…