Abstract
A Handmade reflectometer was developed to provide a simple analytical device of Boric acid for use as a teaching material in environmental science class. Boric acid was widely used in cosmetics and as a food preservative because of its mild antiseptic properties. Recently, the toxicity of Boric acid and Borates has been clarified and limited to its usage, with the exception of eye wash solutions and some sanitary materials. A Curcumin colorimetric method was adopted for this quantitative analysis of Boric acid and Borates. These compounds form red colored chelates with curcumin. Therefore the concentration of Boric acid or Borates can be determined by measuring the reflectance of the filter paper surface, which contains curcumin reacted with Boric acid or Borates. The handmade reflectometer was used to measure the reflectance of a filter paper surface. Subsequently, we introduced this new device to a practical science class in a high school and investigated the effectiveness of this new device in the following ways:1. Accuracy of measurements by students. 2. Analysis of questionnaires answered by students. The questionnaire consisted of the following questions. (1) Do the students understand the principle of this device and the method of the analysis? (2) Can the students easily operate this device? (3) Does using this device improve student morale? The first point showed that the accuracy is satisfactory as a teaching material. The second point showed that most of the students gave positive answers in the questionnaire.
