Testing Nanotechnology In Everyday Application

The activity described in this article has students determine the effectiveness of nanotechnology applied to clothing. Students compare a variety of ‘nanocare’ materials to their ease of cl... See More

The activity described in this article has students determine the effectiveness of nanotechnology applied to clothing. Students compare a variety of ‘nanocare’ materials to their ease of cleaning a variety of stains with a variety of common household cleaning agents. Not only does this activity introduce the use of nanotechnology for everyday products but it builds the students understanding of the nature of basic scientific research and the skills associated with it through hands-on activities.

Inquiry and nanoscience

This article provides a good example of how to set up an inquiry lesson from a teacher directed introductory lab. It has the bonus of also providing a consumer product test of a nano-materia... See More

This article provides a good example of how to set up an inquiry lesson from a teacher directed introductory lab. It has the bonus of also providing a consumer product test of a nano-material called Nano-Tex. The author provides good references and a good description of how to set up an inquiry lesson for teachers who are still learning how to set up a lab in this style. The teacher provides a directed lesson in investigating some of the properties of the materials and in the process models how a lab might be set up. The students build on this to design their own investigations and can use the initial lab as a control, depending on their own set-up. There are good reference materials provided, and the directions are very clear. While this lesson really doesn’t teach much about nanoscience except the fact that this material was created using nano-fibers, it does provide an example of a use that could be built upon for future investigations of the topic.