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The objective of this learning activity is to "create an awareness of carbon nanotubes (CNT) and how their use in future applications within the field of nanotechnology can benefit our society." This will be achieved through the use of hands-on models that explore bonding and molecular geometry....

This learning activity will provide a useful technique for students to learn casting concepts. The class will be allowed a hands-on experience with casting. Students will make their own fishing sinkers. The lesson plan document includes step by step instructions for the lesson along with...

This learning activity will provide an introduction to ceramic slip casting for advanced high-school and introductory college and technical school students. The exercise covers the properties of ceramics, the slip casting process, and the limitations of slip casting. The module can be completed in...

This module, created by Craig Johnson of Central Washington University, "incorporates engineering design (using smart spreadsheets) into a laboratory activity focusing on columns made of composite materials." In this lab, students will simulate the use of composite columns and use spreadsheets to...

This learning activity will provide students with an introduction to the layup method of composite production. Students will use epoxy resin and fiberglass woven cloth to create their own lay-up, and in the process learn about matrices, resins, hardeners, and release agents. This activity is...

This learning activity will provides a lesson on "the effect on strength and stiffness of a material when it is manufactured as a composite." Popsicle sticks are used to demonstrate the difference between singular materials and composite materials. The activity is meant for students to understand...

The Materials Science and Technology Teacher's Workshop (MAST) provides this demonstration on corrosion. The laboratory exercise will allow students the opportunity to "observe the electrochemical nature of the changes in an iron nail when it corrodes and to investigate methods to protect it." Ways...

The Materials Science and Technology Teacher's Workshop (MAST) provides this lesson plan for students learning about polymers. The class will be introduced to the concepts and vocabulary of polymers with simple models. Cheese puffs and Cheetos will be used to create simulations of polymer chains....

The Materials Science and Technology Teacher's Workshop (MAST) provides this experiment on the basic crystal structures that metal atoms form. The laboratory exercise uses Styrofoam balls and toothpicks to construct the packing configurations that metals form. The lesson includes a step by step...

This module will demonstrate "the structure-properties-processing relationship fundamental to materials science." The objective of the lesson is to "explain the effects of strain hardening and annealing on engineering materials and how the resulting mechanical properties may be significantly...