A guided inquiry exercise conducted in both the lecture and laboratory components of a college introductory chemistry course for nonmajors is described. The exercise involved having the students investigate the relationship between the mass of sodium chloride used and the mass of silver(I) chloride produced in the reaction between sodium chloride and silver(I)nitrate. Collaborative group discussion was used to create hypotheses and design the corresponding experiments, and the results from the guided inquiry laboratory exercises are summarized. This exercise effectively integrated activities in the lecture and laboratory, immersed the students in the process of scientific inquiry, and successfully conveyed the concept of the limiting reactant in a chemical reaction.
Jack F. Eichler (2007) studied this question.