Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Understanding Student Gpa, Justin Rodrigues, Malcolm Recinos, Carla Torres

Undergraduate Research Conference

As a student of Stephen F. Austin State University have you ever wondered about the efficacy of you weekly habits as it relates towards your cumulative college GPA? Have you ever been curious of students with a higher GPA (grade point average) spent their free time than those with a lower GPAs? We decided to test various weekly habits of the everyday college student to discover if their actions are in fact a determinant of college GPA.

Apartment Rental Prices In Dallas, Mandi Lovett

Undergraduate Research Conference

There are many questions in a graduating students mind such as “Will I get that job?” and “Where will I live?” We wanted to predict apartment rental prices in Dallas to give students an idea of what their living expenses could be. We found that an apartment's distance from downtown Dallas and if the apartment has a pool are two factors that decrease the apartment's overall rental price.

Enantioselective Biotransformation Of Prochiral Ketone Via Daucus Carota, Ryan Smith, Charlie Knox, Elizabeth Davis

Undergraduate Research Conference

Biotransformations of prochiral ketones can be performed using plant cells. The benefits of using plant cells include low cost, environmentally sound procedures compared to conventional chemical processes, and the stereospecific nature of the reaction.1,2 Benzofuran-2-yl methyl ketone was reduced to (- )-benzofuran-2-yl-ethanol after incubation with carrots in water. The reaction was enantioselective in that it produced the S-isomer as indicated by optical activity. Currently, attempts to isolate the carrot enzyme and antimicrobial studies of the (-)-benzofuran-2-yl-ethanol product are underway.

Geographic Information Systems And Cloud Computing, James Hearn

Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

A Multiplicative "Conic", Tiffany Lundy

Undergraduate Research Conference

Early in their mathematical career, students learn about how ellipses and hyperbolas are formed, their properties, and their applications. In particular, an ellipse is the set of all points in the plane whose combined distance from two fixed locations (foci) is constant. A hyperbola is formed in much the same way, except instead of combining (adding) the distance from the foci, the difference is used. This research begins by examining a new locus of points. The locus of points if formed by taking all points whose distance from two fixed locations when multiplied in constant. The difference discernible types of …

Research In The Teaching Laboratory: Improving The Synthesis Of Lidocaine, Chris Taliaferro

Undergraduate Research Conference

The multi-step synthesis of Lidocaine is traditionally a low-yielding reaction mainly due to its second step, formation of a-chloro-2,6-dimethylacetanilide. Students often question the use of an acid (acetic acid) as the solvent for the reaction of a base (2,6-dimethylaniline, 1) with the acyl chloride (a-chloroacetyl chloride, 2), (Reaction Scheme) but they follow the procedure as directed.

Students, if treated as scientists in training, should be able to form a hypothesis before an experiment, design experiments to test the given hypothesis, and evaluate the results. A typical laboratory class was assigned to synthesize a-chloro-2,6-dimethylacetanilide using …

Solids Of Revolution Formed By Rotating Functions, Cory Robinson, Blake Moyer

Undergraduate Research Conference

During Calculus students learn how to find the volume of regions formed by rotating a function about a vertical or horizontal line. This technique is useful in finding the volume of regular/symmetric three dimensional regions, but fails for regions which do not possess these qualities. This project is a generalization of this idea in order to find the volume of a solid generated by revolving one function about another. This should lead to being able to find or approximate the volume of regions which are not symmetric/regular.

Petrology Of Proterozoic To Tertiary Rocks In The Southern Burro Mountains, Nm: Insights Into Mazatzal To Basin And Range Magmatism And Tectonics, Theda Strickler

Undergraduate Research Conference

Analysis of thin sections from the Wind Mountain quadrangle, Burro Mountains, NM, near the Tyrone copper mine, reveals a complex geologic history. Rock samples collected in the study area were cut using a rock saw and thin sections were prepared and analyzed to determine mineral content and fabric patterns. The oldest rocks in the study area are strongly metamorphosed and locally mylonitized Proterozoic quartzofeldspathic gneisses and amphibolites of Mazatzal affinity. Mineralogical indications of shearing correlate with shear zones observed during field mapping in the area. Another set of samples are of younger Proterozoic granites and metagranites that intruded the country …