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An applied computational chemistry laboratory exercise is described in which students use modern quantum chemical calculations of chemical shifts to assign the structure of a recently isolated natural product. A pre/post assessment was used to measure student learning gains and verify that students demonstrated proficiency of key learning objectives.

Organic chemistry problems that interrelate and integrate synthesis with spectroscopy are presented. These synthesis–spectroscopy roadmap (SSR) problems uniquely engage second-year undergraduate organic chemistry students in the personal discovery of organic chemistry. SSR problems counter the memorize-or-bust strategy that many students tend to employ in the study of organic chemistry with an instructional strategy that fosters “seeing” connections, “hearing” what a problem has to say, and “feeling” the exhilaration that comes with discovery.

A course entitled “Careers in Chemistry” has been developed and implemented in the chemistry curriculum. This seminar-style class exposes students to a full spectrum of career options available to chemists by hosting outside speakers. The workings and logistics of this course and its positive impact on students are described. Survey results suggest that implementation of a similar course or seminar series at other institutions may be beneficial in exposing students to career options in chemistry.

An inexpensive and safe alternative apparatus to pressurize a flash chromatography column is reported. This simple setup utilizes a blood pressure bulb to address the pressurized glassware safety concern of flash chromatography, provide a suitable method applicable in both teaching and research laboratories, and offer a water-saving alternative to widely used aspirator methods.

The structural complexity of typical TLC experiments precludes meaningful discussions of important aspects of TLC.