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The laboratory has occupied an important place in the general chemistry curriculum for well over a century, despite the fact that many have voiced concern about its value and utility. In an effort to potentially increase capacity in our general chemistry courses, we developed and implemented a hybrid laboratory curriculum that consisted of alternating face-to-face and virtual laboratory experiments. This study sought to better understand the impact that this hybrid approach had on students' cognitive, affective, and psychomotor learning. The results suggest that students taught using the hybrid approach developed similar cognitive and psychomotor skills in comparison to students taught using a traditional laboratory curriculum; however, their affective outlook toward chemistry was significantly lower.

The equations for the liquid and gas lines in the binary temperature-composition phase diagram are derived by approximating that delta(H)[subscript vap] of the two liquids are equal. It is shown that within this approximation, the resulting equations are not too difficult to present in an undergraduate physical chemistry lecture.

A distance learning general chemistry course for science majors that addresses the laboratory dilemma by providing a series of hands-on laboratory equipments designed to perform in students' homes is described. Based on the analysis of the data collected for study it is concluded that learning opportunity for students taking distance learning general chemistry was equivalent to those attending conventional lecture.