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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Chemistry

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Inquiry-Based/Discovery Learning

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Review Of Student-Built Spectroscopy Instrumentation Projects, Michelle L. Kovarik, Julia R. Clapis, K. Ana Romano-Pringle Aug 2020

Review Of Student-Built Spectroscopy Instrumentation Projects, Michelle L. Kovarik, Julia R. Clapis, K. Ana Romano-Pringle

Faculty Scholarship

Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc. One challenge of teaching chemical analysis is the proliferation of sophisticated, but often impenetrable, instrumentation in the modern laboratory. Complex instruments, and the software that runs them, distance students from the physical and chemical processes that generate the analytical signal. A solution to this challenge is the introduction of a student-driven instrument-building project. Visible absorbance spectroscopy is well-suited to such a project due to its relative simplicity and the ubiquity of absorbance measurements. This Article reviews simple instructor- A nd student-built instruments for spectroscopy, providing an overview of …


Semester-Long Course-Based Research Project In Second-Semester Organic Chemistry: Synthesizing Potential Lead Compounds For The Treatment Of A Neglected Tropical Disease, Kerry L. Barnett, Kevin M. Shea, Catherine Mcgeough, Kristine Trotta, Steven A. Williams, Minh Ly, Kathryn Aloisio Mar 2020

Semester-Long Course-Based Research Project In Second-Semester Organic Chemistry: Synthesizing Potential Lead Compounds For The Treatment Of A Neglected Tropical Disease, Kerry L. Barnett, Kevin M. Shea, Catherine Mcgeough, Kristine Trotta, Steven A. Williams, Minh Ly, Kathryn Aloisio

Chemistry: Faculty Publications

A semester-long research project for second-semester organic chemistry lab sections was developed. Student projects were based on preliminary data from faculty research that suggested the natural product neurolenin B to be a treatment for lymphatic filariasis. Students isolated neurolenins from the Central American plant Neurolaena lobata and proposed syntheses of previously unknown analogues using reactions learned in first- and second-semester organic chemistry. Using literature-based procedures, students ran reactions on neurolenins and analyzed their results by TLC and NMR spectroscopy. The semester culminated with a public poster session and final report using the Organic Letters template. Students in a total of …


Synthesis Of Di- And Trisubstituted Azulenes Using A Danheiser Annulation As The Key Step: An Advanced Organic Laboratory Experiment, Rebecca M. Thomas, Kevin M. Shea Oct 2012

Synthesis Of Di- And Trisubstituted Azulenes Using A Danheiser Annulation As The Key Step: An Advanced Organic Laboratory Experiment, Rebecca M. Thomas, Kevin M. Shea

Chemistry: Faculty Publications

This three-week advanced-level organic experiment provides students with an inquiry-based approach focused on learning traditional skills such as primary literature interpretation, reaction design, flash column chromatography, and NMR analysis. Additionally, students address higher-order concepts such as the origin of azulene’s blue color, the mechanism of the Danheiser annulation (step 1), identification of an unknown reaction byproduct, and rationalization of a selective electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction (step 2). Students are initially drawn in by the fascinating color of azulene and remain engaged by the intriguing questions that naturally occur during this investigation.