Colorful Approach to Teaching Extraction Using Azo Dyes and Comparison of Hands-On vs Distance Learning Assessment

Introductory organic chemistry laboratory is often a difficult course for students in terms of translating the structural information and reactivity learned in lecture to the practical applications found in the laboratory. These concepts are even more difficult when presented through distance learning when a student cannot get hands-on experience. Students find extraction on colorless substances especially difficult on a conceptual level. Though students are introduced to acid/base properties in general chemistry, they do not carry over this understanding to organic chemistry. To improve student comprehension, we have developed a visual experiment using conjugated azo dyes to introduce students to the acid/base properties of functional groups needed to understand extraction. The experiment consists of a chemically and visually active extraction which can be presented through distance learning or a traditional hands-on experiment. Herein, both strategies will be presented and their assessments compared.