Organic Chemistry Laboratory Research Articles

Evaluating Student Engagement with Quick Reference Videos for Common Organic Chemistry Laboratory Techniques

Evaluating Student Engagement with Quick Reference Videos for Common Organic Chemistry Laboratory Techniques

Extending access for all chemistry students with extended reality

Equal access to instructor’s time and attention in chemistry classes and laboratories can be a barrier experienced by students from historically excluded groups. An instructor’s own biases will determine the nature of their interaction with students, and even well-meaning instructors can interact with students in slightly different ways, which might prevent certain students from having access to all the available instructional resources for the class. This is an additive problem, which may or may not be recognized in peer and student evaluations, and an issue that might escape self-reflection even in educators that are committed to diversity, inclusion, and justice. This issue conflates both actual and perceived biases, introducing a complex dynamic between instructor and student. Extended reality (XR) provides an avenue to generate materials that can be used to enhance or replace classroom instruction with a great degree of realism. In this paper we will discuss the implementation of a set of virtual reality (VR) organic chemistry labs. We will show that XR learning tools are by their very nature accessible and inclusive of a wide variety of students and will provide evidence from student reflections that shows that students from historically excluded groups find the XR content offered in our virtual reality labs more personal than in-person activities covering the same material.

Investigating the Learning Goals and Expectations of Laboratory Coordinators, Graduate Teaching Assistants, and Students in General and Organic Chemistry Laboratory Courses

Investigating the Learning Goals and Expectations of Laboratory Coordinators, Graduate Teaching Assistants, and Students in General and Organic Chemistry Laboratory Courses

Investigative and collaborative experimental activities using simple purification of curcuminoids by column chromatography

This work describes the use of turmeric in the teaching concepts and laboratory techniques of organic chemistry to students in introductory classes of licentiate, bachelor’s and industrial chemistry courses, as well as to pharmacy and chemical engineering students at Universidade Federal Fluminense, in Niterói/RJ/Brazil. Considering investigative and collaborative activities and Vygotsky theory, the discussed concepts were everyday natural products, green chemistry, purification and separation of organic substances, molecular interactions, organic compound extraction techniques, and thin-layer and column chromatography. The activities were applied for four 3-hour classes for 31 students in 7 introductory organic chemistry laboratory classes for Chemistry and for 43 students in 4 experimental organic chemistry classes for Pharmacy and Chemical Engineering courses, in the years 2022–23. The teaching-learning process methodology involved 4 moments/classes: a) discussions about organic chemistry; b) discontinuous extraction of turmeric and thin-layer chromatography; c) column chromatography; and d) discussions about results and the learning process. After the sequence of classes, it was possible to observe the students’ motivation with the ease of separating curcuminoids and the understanding of the relationship between theoretical concepts and practice, as well as the understanding of the importance of low waste production.

A Case Study of an Antibiotic Discovery Laboratory Autonomous Learning Assignment—An Evaluation of Undergraduate Students’ Disciplinary Bias

Current higher education trends are moving towards interdisciplinary curricula to provide new tools for solving complex issues. However, course design and learning tracks still create divisions between scientific disciplines. This study aimed to evaluate the disciplinary bias of second-year undergraduate students of biotechnology engineering in the organic chemistry laboratory class through a laboratory setting involving blended disciplines. An experiment on antibiotic discovery that integrates parallel and combinatorial organic chemistry syntheses with microbiology techniques was chosen. As a part of an activity, students had free choice in designing the arrangement of the organic compounds and the two bacterial species by setting up the layout for a 96-well plate. The study visually analyzed students’ plate layouts (n = 74) according to discipline classification and the spatial arrangements of organic compounds (e.g., products and libraries). The results identified four themes that are suggested to reflect students’ vertical, lateral, and interdisciplinary thinking, as most were found to be in the procedural knowledge range and between Bloom’s application and analysis dimensions. Using this study’s thematic analysis methodology in chemistry and related educational fields can provide a pedagogical reflective tool and advance personalized teaching and interdisciplinarity.

Reaction Optimization Experiment for Undergraduate Capstone Organic Chemistry Laboratory Course

Reaction Optimization Experiment for Undergraduate Capstone Organic Chemistry Laboratory Course

Virtual Reality in an Eco-Niche Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory Course: New Practice in Chemistry Lab Teaching

Virtual Reality in an Eco-Niche Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory Course: New Practice in Chemistry Lab Teaching

A solventless carbonyl addition reaction as a guided inquiry laboratory activity for second-year undergraduate organic students

ABSTRACT A less hazardous, environmentally friendly, and energy-efficient Knoevenagel reaction performed using proline as a catalyst has been designed and implemented within a sophomore-level organic chemistry laboratory as a guided inquiry activity. The main learning objective is to enable students to identify and understand various green chemistry principles such as atom economy, use of safer chemicals, design for energy efficiency, and inherently safer chemistry for accident prevention. Students were successful in synthesizing α,β-unsaturated diesters using unknown substituted benzaldehydes (later identified by the students spectroscopically) and Meldrum’s acid at room temperature in the presence of proline as a catalyst without the need for an additional base. By analyzing 1H NMR spectroscopic data, infrared spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry to identify the synthesized product, the unknown benzaldehyde starting material, and the major reaction pathway, students have enhanced their spectroscopy skills and developed a deeper understanding of the mechanism of the reaction that may not be covered in the lecture course.

UJI KONSENTRASI EKSTRAK DAUN SIRIH HUTAN BERPELARUT ORGANIK TERHADAP WERENG COKLAT

Rice is one of the priority food crop in Indonesia. The main problem faced by rice cultivation is the attack of brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens Stall.), this pest is one of the most important pest in rice cultivation, because it can cause a production decrease up to 100% by causing hopperburn symptoms and becoma a desease vector. Botanical pesticide of spiked pepper (Piper aduncum L.) can be the safe alternative to controling brown planthopper. This research aims to obtain effective concentration to controling brown planthopper. The research was conducted at The Plant Pest Laboratory Faculty of Agriculture and Organic Chemistry and Natural Materials Laboratory Faculty of Engineering, Riau University, from November 2020 to Januari 2021, using completely randomized design (CRD) consist of 6 treatments 4 replications. The treatment application consisted of concentrations of 0%, 0.20%, 0.40%, 0.60%, 0.80%, and 100% spiked pepper leaf methanol solvent extract. The result showed that different concentration significantly affected to the death of brown planthopper. Concentrations starting from 0.20% has good performance in killing pest, but the effective concentration to control brown planthoppers is 0.60% concentration of spiked pepper leaf methanol extract, with a total mortality of 82.50%, initial time of death 3.25 hours, and 50% time of death at 10 hours after application.

Metal-Free Ring-Opening Polymerization of Propylene Oxide: Synthesis and Characterization of Polyether in the Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory

Metal-Free Ring-Opening Polymerization of Propylene Oxide: Synthesis and Characterization of Polyether in the Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Solvatochromic Dye and Analysis of Solvent Polarity in Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Solvatochromic Dye and Analysis of Solvent Polarity in Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory

Merging Inline NMR Monitoring and Flow Chemistry in the Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory

Merging Inline NMR Monitoring and Flow Chemistry in the Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory

Exploring the Inductive Effect through Computational Modeling: A General and Organic Chemistry Lab Experiment

Exploring the Inductive Effect through Computational Modeling: A General and Organic Chemistry Lab Experiment

Uncovering Factors That Affect the Efficiency of Azo Dye Synthesis in Organic Chemistry Laboratory

Uncovering Factors That Affect the Efficiency of Azo Dye Synthesis in Organic Chemistry Laboratory

Investigating the Impact of RAMP-Based Safety Instruction on Student Learning in an Organic Chemistry Lab Course

Investigating the Impact of RAMP-Based Safety Instruction on Student Learning in an Organic Chemistry Lab Course

Lessons learned: the use of an augmented reality application in organic chemistry laboratories

Lessons learned: the use of an augmented reality application in organic chemistry laboratories

Incorporating Green Chemistry into Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory: Synthesis of Banana Oil

Incorporating Green Chemistry into Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory: Synthesis of Banana Oil

Development and evaluation of immersive VR laboratories of organic chemistry and physics for students education

In science education, the use of laboratory experiments has a critical role. However, experiments can cause excessive material waste, and safety issues must be taken seriously. Virtual laboratories and simulations have become a useful and effective alternative to in-person, hands-on laboratories as a result of the educational possibilities afforded by information and communication technology. With virtual reality (VR), students can depict scientific phenomena through virtual practical experiments that use computer simulation. In this work, VR-based lab simulations of physics and chemistry experiments were introduced. Chemistry lab includes 3 experiments from organic chemistry (identify aldehydes using Tollen’s test, identify ketones using the 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazine test, and identify carboxylic acids using the sodium carbonate test) and physics lab includes 2 experiments on series and parallel current, accomplished through the use of the real-time 3D graphics and pre-rendered animations. Further, to assess the usability of the developed system, 20 students were surveyed as research subjects and they filled out the SUS survey after conducting the VR experiments in Oculus Quest 2. . The average score for the VR chemistry lab simulations was 92.63%, and, the average score for the physics lab was 93.38%, indicating a high level of performance and achievement among the participants. Further, in the comparative study evaluating knowledge retention and learning experience, the experimental group (VR, N=20) outperformed the control group (traditional, N=13), indicating a more favorable learning experience. All participants from the experiment group reported that virtual labs were easy to use. Overall, findings from the Knowledge Retention survey show that interactive laboratory activities enhance students’ understanding of chemical processes and practical skills.

Improving Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratories through Integration with Research: Prospects and a Model Study

Improving Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratories through Integration with Research: Prospects and a Model Study

Leveraging undergraduate learning assistants when implementing new laboratory curricula

At University of California, Irvine, a large-enrollment research university, undergraduate chemistry courses for non-chemistry majors were delivered remotely during the 2020–2021 academic year, with a return to in-person instruction planned for January 2022. Because this return to in-person instruction coincided with the transition of second-year students from general chemistry to organic chemistry laboratory courses, the instructional staff recognized a need for remedial laboratory curricula for students with no prior in-person laboratory experience. Simultaneously, we desired to implement undergraduate Learning Assistants (LAs) in non-chemistry major organic chemistry laboratories for the first time at our university. In this paper, we describe our approach for leveraging undergraduate LAs to (1) test new laboratory curricula and (2) address feelings of comfort and safety for students with no prior in-person laboratory experience. Benefits of our LA program perceived by students include increased laboratory efficiency and improved student learning from near-peer instructors; benefits perceived by LAs include the development of professional skills and teamwork with graduate student teaching assistants. We provide an outline of resources and strategies to enable instructors to simultaneously implement undergraduate LAs and new laboratory curricula.