ERIC EJ906190: Bend It, Stretch It, Hammer It, Break It: Materials Chemistry Applied

2010·0.18 MB·English

by  ERIC

Grace A. Neff, Jennifer Retsek, Lola Berber-Jimenez, Nicole Barber,
Monica Coles, Christina Fintikakis, and Brent Huigens
Bend it, Stretch it, Hammer it, Break it:
Materials Chemistry Applied
Abstract into misconceptions and problem study suggested that older students’
Making chemistry both acces- solving in chemistry illuminates inability to see themselves using sci-
sible and interesting to middle and this difficulty (Bodner, 1991; Kind, ence outside the classroom may be
high school students can be difficult. 2004; Nakleh, 1992). The struggle connected to their perception that
Convincing middle and high school with chemistry extends beyond the science is about reading and lecture
teachers that they will learn some- students to the teachers of chemis- and not about performing activities
thing new and applicable from a pro- try – teaching an abstract, complex (Barman, 1999). Moreover, students’
fessional development workshop in subject, and making it accessible, attitudes toward science can be “most
chemistry can be equally challenging. relevant and applicable to students, significant” in determining whether
This paper describes the use of mate- is challenging (Gabel, 1999). The or not they will continue with further
rial science as a means to enhance authors know this from experience science study or choose science as a
interest in basic chemical concepts. in teaching introductory chemistry to career (Osborne, 2003, p.1055).
By making use of familiar materials, college students and hear this anec- With these issues in mind, a
it seeks to reveal the applicability of dotally from colleagues teaching in 40-hour professional development
chemistry to everyday life. Metals, middle and high schools. Teachers’ (PD) course was created for middle
semiconductors, and polymers were attitudes toward teaching chemis- and high school teachers. The focus
the materials at the heart of this try can be just as critical to student of this course was materials chem-
course for secondary level teachers. success as their knowledge of the istry, an area rich in applicable con-
Properties of these materials were subject. “In all education, especially tent relevant to both teachers’ and
investigated in hands-on activities science, the teacher is the enabler, students’ lives. In order for students
and firmly connected to the bonding the inspiration but also the con- to fully appreciate science and value
type and structure in each material straint. … their instructional behav- learning it, science courses through-
through interactive discussion. The iors are influenced by their attitudes out K-12 grades need to clearly show
course itself will be described, and towards science, a fact that does not the relevance of science taught in the
a few of the activities will be high- go unnoticed by students” (Vaidya, classroom to everyday life (Barman,
lighted. Teachers’ responses to daily 1993, p.63). Also, the middle and 1999). To make chemistry acces-
surveys and final evaluations will high school years are critical ones sible by showing how it relates to
also be discussed, and future direc- for science education. Studies have materials used in everyday life, we
tions will be addressed. shown that as students get older, their placed the chemistry of bonding into
attitudes towards science become the context of the resulting material
Introduction less favorable (Fleming & Malone, properties. In just the last century,
1983; Sorge, 2007). One such study our society has become increasingly
As the study of matter, its prop-
indicated that science attitudes show reliant on modern materials such
erties, and its reactions, chemis-
a “precipitous drop” when students as plastics, composites, and semi-
try plays an integral role in every
make the transition from elementary conductors, and all of these materi-
aspect of every life. However,
to middle school (Sorge, 2007). This als have extended the boundaries of
chemistry can be a complex and
particular study suggested that the our technological capabilities (Sass,
abstract subject, and students often
observed changes in attitude may be 1998). The relevance of materi-
struggle with learning it. Research
connected to developmental changes als like these to students’ everyday
Keywords: Materials chemistry, materials in students and recommended fur- life is obvious, and this allows us to
properties, chemical bonding ther research (Sorge, 2007). Another make chemistry more interesting and
48 Science educator
accessible. The connection between (CSP, 2009), is a collaborative in the activities were all readily
bonding type and observable mate- endeavor between University sci- available, and this allows the teacher
rial properties gives teachers a way ence faculty and local school districts participants to practice these activi-
to update their own knowledge and to improve science education for all ties before using them in their own
teach a basic concept with renewed students. The main presenters for classrooms. This enables them to see
interest and more applicability. the course were Cal Poly Chemistry what works and to predict what might
Figure 1 below illustrates the con- faculty; collaborators from Materials not work well with their students. A
nection and flow of the concepts Engineering (MATE) played a key list of sources of materials was also
covered in this course. The materi- role in the first incarnation of the given to teachers. Another valuable
als themselves are the basis of this course. Undergraduate chemistry aspect of this professional develop-
course – these are the observables and materials engineering students ment program is the presentation and
that the teachers (and students) can developed some of the background facilitation of the course by content
relate to and connect to in their content and adapted several of the experts in a collegial setting. As uni-
everyday lives. The materials studied activities in the first year. The work versity faculty, the authors bring a
were all solids, and, consequently, of two of these students became their valuable level of expertise to the pre-
the bonding in solids and the theo- senior projects, which are required sentations, discussions, and activi-
retical basis of that bonding (band for graduation from this university ties. The faculty are readily available
theory) are necessary components to (Barber, 2005; Coles, 2005). resources of knowledge for the teach-
the course. Structure and bonding are The intention behind the course ers, and they are willing to answer
intimately connected and also deter- is not to “reinvent the wheel.” All questions and troubleshoot problems
mine properties of solids. Thus, the the parts of the course were already with the activities. Furthermore, the
concepts come full circle to answer in existence. The course was based benefit that resulted from the collab-
the question, “How is the bonding in on the authors’ teaching experience orative nature of the course cannot
a material related to or responsible in and content from an engineering be overstated. Teachers were brought
for the observable properties?” general chemistry course (Bailey, together to meet and work with col-
This course has been offered twice 2004). The activities were adapted leagues during the summer, which
with a total of 26 teachers participat- from a variety of sources (see Table is an opportunity they do not have
ing, and it is part of ongoing work 1). Many of these activities had been during the school year. The work-
between the Central Coast Science developed for and used in class- shop setting is one of the main rea-
Project (CCSP) and teachers from rooms, and the fundamental goal sons that the whole package of this
partnership schools. The CCSP, one was that all the materials used would course is of much greater value than
of 18 California Science Projects be familiar to teachers and students merely providing the participants
alike. For example, with a description of the individual
materials included activities.
metal wire and sheet-
ing, plastic grocery Structure of the Workshop
and trash bags, and In both years this course was taught,
light emitting diodes the majority of participating teachers
(LEDs). The value of were middle and high school teach-
this program results ers, and, in the second year, there
from pulling all the were also a few elementary school
program components teachers. These teachers were equally
together into a coher- distributed between experienced
ent package. Course teachers and newer teachers, and the
content is interwoven average years teaching experience
throughout and strongly was approximately fifteen. Some of
Figure 1: Connectivity of bonding, structure and observable material connected to the activi- the high school teachers had strong
properties
ties. The materials used
Fall 2010 Vol. 19, no. 2 49
chemistry backgrounds and were are teacher-centered, challeng- between the topics presented in the
interested in learning new applica- ing, authentic and collaborative” course and other, related topics. Also,
tions of their knowledge. Other high (Daniels, Bizar, & Zemelman, 2001, in order for teachers to feel compe-
school teachers, as well as some of p. 241), and this course was predi- tent and be confident in answering
the middle school teachers and most cated on and evaluated based on that any questions posed to them by their
of the elementary school teachers, idea. In addition, involving partici- students, they must achieve a high
were lacking in their chemistry back- pants in first-hand investigation of level of understanding.
grounds and were looking to increase material properties is aligned with An important aspect of this course
both their content knowledge and the constructivist approach to learn- was that the activities had to use
their application skills. Both groups ing. This approach basically states materials that were easily attain-
of teachers had strengths to bring that knowledge cannot be transmit- able from hardware stores, grocery
to the course, as well as needs for ted from teacher to learner, and, stores, or online resources. The more
the course to fill. Both years, teach- instead, the learner must actively “exotic” materials, like LEDs, were
ers were asked to read a chapter on acquire that knowledge so that the supplied to the teachers, and the
Materials Chemistry from a gen- learning is more concrete when it is source was identified. The equip-
eral chemistry text that was sent in applied (Padilla, 1991). Thus, teach- ment used to study some properties,
advance (Gilbert, Kirss, & Davies, ers worked in small groups (2-3) like the conductivity probes, was
2004). They were also sent an out- both years to carry out the activities. either handmade in the lab by our
line of the course in a daily schedule. In year one, teachers also collabo- students (Gadek, 1987) or purchased
In the first year of instruction, teach- rated in these groups to adapt one at minimal cost from an online
ers started the program with a “crash activity for use in their classrooms. source. Many of these activities were
course” in materials processing by In year two, time was set aside for scaled-down versions of processing
visiting a materials engineering the groups to debrief together after or testing techniques performed in
laboratory on campus and perform- most activities. Both years, teachers industry or in university-level labo-
ing steel processing, metal and poly- were given an evaluation at the end ratories that had been adapted for
mer tensile strength testing, cold of each day, and then a final evalu- use in the classroom. For example,
working of metals, and a Charpy ation was given the last day of the cold-working and steel process-
impact test (California Polytechnic workshop. ing were accomplished using wires,
State University [CPSU] Materials and polymer tensile strength testing
Engineering website, 2005). In Content and Activities was accomplished using a variety
year two, this portion was omitted Table 1 shows an outline of the of polymer samples like trash bags,
(see Impact and Conclusions), and content covered and examples of along with ring stands, binder clips,
the course started with a Concept activities performed. In this course, and weights.
Inventory Pre-Test that had been basic bonding theory was approached One example of a familiar type
developed by the authors using ques- in an applied manner by utilizing of material studied in great detail in
tions from an existing Materials a perspective that investigates the this course was metals. Properties
Concept Inventory (Griffins & ways that bonding type affects the of metals, such as conductivity
Krause, 2005) and from their own observed material properties. The and malleability, were described as
existing course materials. Both course was taught as if it were a rigor- resulting from the delocalized nature
years, teachers were given a course ous, college-level class, regardless of of the bonding electrons in metal-
packet that included background the grade level at which the teachers lic bonding. In metallic bonding, no
content on each topic covered and taught. Even though these teachers, one metal nucleus holds the valence
the instructions for the activities. The particularly at the middle or elemen- electrons strongly bound to itself,
daily schedules consisted of alternat- tary school level, may never cover so these electrons are free to move
ing content presentations and corre- some of the topics, this high level of about throughout the collection of
sponding activities. instruction is necessary. First of all, atoms, and thus easily conduct both
Good professional develop- it helps teachers see the connection electricity and heat (Gilbert, Kirss, &
ment must include “activities that Davies, 2004). This flexible electron
50 Science educator
Table 1: Materials Chemistry Content Covered and Representative Activities “glue” holds the atoms together yet
allows them to move when force is
Content Representative Demonstrated Bonding Concept(s)
Activities Material Property Applied applied, which results in malleabil-
ity. The latter is a simplification of
Basics of Bonding Melted Awaya Melting point Differences in ionic
and covalent bonding a more in-depth explanation, one
that explains malleability as result-
Metal or Nonmetal?b Conductivity, Differences in metallic
ing from the presence of dislocations
malleability and covalent bonding
in the metal lattice (Tilley, 2004).
Basics of Solids Solid State Modelsc Structure of solids at Bonding in solids
This more complete explanation was
atomic level
also explained to the teachers in this
Crystals Up Closed Structure of solids at Bonding in solids
macroscopic level course, even though it may be well
above the level of detail of most mid-
Properties of Metals, Drop the Noodlee Comparing heat Metals conduct heat
Defects conduction in metals well due to delocalized dle or high school classes. It was left
nature of bonding to the participants to decide how to
electrons adapt these explanations for use with
Metal Working & Malleability and Metals are malleable their particular students.
Strengthf strength of metals and strong due to To illustrate metal properties,
delocalized electrons
teachers completed several different
and presence of
activities, some of which are shown
defects
in Table 1. For example, heat con-
Band Theory Exploring Conductivity Conductivity of Comparing conductors,
duction is well illustratedby compar-
Part 1c,f materials as a function semiconductors, and
of temperature insulators ing how different metal, plastic, and
wood bars or rods conduct heat from
Semiconductors: LEDs Exploring Conductivity Conductivity of Conductivity of
Part 2c,f semiconductors semiconductors hot water along their length in order
as function of depends on what it is to melt wax, margarine, or peanut
temperature and composed of and on butter and release a noodle that the
composition temperature
substance had been adhering to the
Polymer Basics and Making and Recycling Stretching and Cross-linking in
rod (Kardos, 1996b). The property
Reactions a Polymerg elasticity of different polymers
of malleability was investigated in
polymers
the Tensile Strength Activity (Dept.
Polymer Structure and Polymer Absorptionh Absorption properties Structure of polymer
of Material Science & Engineering
Properties of different polymers
Univ. of Illinois Champaign-Urbana
Tensile Strength Testi Stretching force Composition and
1996b; Hennon 2004). In this activ-
different polymers can structure of polymer
ity, different metal wires or rods of
withstand
the same gauge are clamped onto
Density Challengef Density of different Composition and
a ring stand and a small paper cup
polymers structure of polymer
is suspended from the end. Metal
a original reference unknown g Tosiani, T. (2009) washers of known mass are then
b Stanitski, C. L. (1998) h Schug, T. (2003) added to the cup until the wires are
c Bailey, C. A., et al. (2005a; 2005b) i Plastics Division of the American permanently deformed by the stress.
d Wynne (1997) Chemistry Council (2004). This lab can be very quantitative in
e Kardos (1996b) that the force exerted by the wash-
f Department of Materials Science and Engineering, ers could be calculated, as could
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. (1996a; 1996b; the displacement experienced by
1996c; 1996d; 1996e) the wire or rod (Hennon, 2004). By
plotting the mass applied as a func-
tion of displacement experienced by
the wire, both the stiffness and the
Fall 2010 Vol. 19, no. 2 51
yield strength of the metals could Discussions here focused on how and three were in Central California.
be determined (Dept. of Material the differences in chemical com- Thus, the geographical reach of these
Science & Engineering Univ. of position (PE vs. PVDC) or physi- workshops was broad. Four of the
Illinois Champaign-Urbana 1996e). cal properties like density (LDPE teachers were elementary, 7 were
This lab can be simplified or adapted vs. HDPE) result in different mate- middle school, 13 were high school
into a simple, qualitative comparison rial properties like tensile strength. teachers, and the remaining two were
of different metals or a comparison Polymer molecules are composed district science coaches. The poten-
between properties of metal, poly- of mostly carbon atoms bonded to tial impact of this workshop on stu-
mer, and wood that is performed in each other in long chains, with other dents is significant. With an estimate
the same manner without any cal- atoms, such as hydrogen, bonding that the elementary teachers each had
culations. The latter comparison of to carbon as well to give each car- 35 students in their classes, and the
metal, polymer, and wood can be bon four bonds. The bonding here middle and high school teachers had
done using rulers held in place with is covalent, which is localized shar- 6 periods of 40 students each, these
a clamp and hanging a fixed distance ing of electrons between two atoms. workshops had the potential to affect
from the edge of a table, with the The carbon atoms in this “backbone” over 5,000 students.
force applied being accomplished can rotate freely, and that is what To gauge the impact on individ-
using metal washers that fit over the makes these polymers flexible (Sass, ual teachers, daily evaluations were
end of the ruler. 1998). Increased strength or stiffness used, and summative assessment was
Polymers were also studied in great of polymers like HDPE is achieved achieved via a final evaluation. The
detail, and a variety of activities were by stacking and folding neighbor- daily evaluations were open-ended
useful in illustrating properties of ing chains to give a more ordered, and asked teachers to comment on
these materials as a function of the nearly crystalline substance in which what they liked and disliked about the
bonding and/or structure in the poly- deformation is achieved through daily lessons. There were, of course,
mers. For example, tensile strength stretching the bonds along the carbon a wide variety of responses, but sys-
was examined both quantitatively backbone (Sass, 1998; Tilley, 2004). tematic coding and analysis of com-
and qualitatively using low density The two PE polymers are composed ments revealed that five themes were
polyethylene (LDPE) dry cleaning of the same basic chemical “parts” or mentioned most frequently (Strauss
garment bags and high density poly- monomers, but the polymer chains in & Corbin, 1998). These responses
ethylene (HDPE) grocery bags, as the low density material are branched are shown in Figure 2A. The pre-
well as other plastics like Saran wrap and thus cannot pack together tightly. dominant comment indicated that
(polyvinylidene chloride, PVDC) This results in a lower density mate- the teachers liked the activities they
(Plastics Div. of American Chemical rial that is flexible but doesn’t stretch performed (~34%). The high quality
Council, 2004). By using binder as much as the higher density mate- of the presentations and presenters
clips to attach pre-cut strips of the rial (Lajeunesse, 2004). The HDPE was the next most common response
plastic to a ring stand and suspend- polymer chains are not branched, so (~23%), with the hands-on aspect
ing washers from another binder clip they pack more tightly and result in a of the workshop also being popular
at the bottom, this activity can have more rigid material that still stretches (~19%). Teachers also appreciated
a strong quantitative component. and has a tensile strength greater than learning new content (~13%) and
Here comparisons could be made of that of LDPE. (Tilley, 2004). being able to work with other teach-
either the amount of force required to ers (12%). All of these comments
permanently deform different mate- Impact and Conclusions indicate achievement of our own
rials, or of the distance the samples This workshop was delivered teaching goals and demonstrate a
stretch under application of a set twice to a total of 26 teachers from degree of success of the course.
force. A more qualitative version of 20 schools and 10 districts. Eleven A similar analysis was performed
this investigation is to have partici- schools were located in districts on on the responses about dislikes. There
pants simply compare how far they the Central Coast of California while were only approximately a third as
can stretch the different materials by 6 more were in Southern California many responses to this question as
hand before they break. there were to the previous question
52 Science educator
(Figure 2B), and this is an encourag- in further developing the format of can be obtained (a concept inventory
ing observation. No one response was the course for year two. In year one, was used only the second summer).
repeated at a rate greater than 26%. teachers indicated that they enjoyed To evaluate the long-term effect of
The most often repeated comment using the industrial scale equipment the course on participant teaching,
(26%) was that the workshop mate- in the MATE lab and valued the follow-up evaluations with past par-
hands-on aspect of this part of the ticipants are planned. These evalu-
Figure 2: Results of systematic coding
and analysis of responses to the Daily course, but several also indicated ations will ask questions regarding
Evaluaquestions A) “What I liked,” and B) “What that it was a bit overwhelming and continued use of activities and pin-
I didn’t like”
they didn’t have enough time to pro- point which activities are still being
cess the material in spite of receiv- used. This will help us hone the
ing the lab manual in advance of the material and make the course as
workshop. For this reason, this sec- useful to teachers as possible. New
tion was omitted in the second year. content and activities on other mate-
Another change that resulted from rials like ceramics, wood, paper,
the year one evaluations was that, and fibers will also be developed for
during the second year, time was set future workshops.
aside after most of the
activities for debriefing. References
The final evalua- Barber, N. (2005). Chemistry essentials
tions asked teachers, secondary: A workshop provided by
among other things, if the Central Coast Science Project.
the workshop met their Senior Project for Department of
Chemistry and Biochemistry, San Luis
expectations and if there
Obispo, CA: California Polytechnic
rial was presented at too high a level, was something they learned that
State University.
and 11% indicated that not enough they would use in their classrooms.
time was allowed for the teachers Overall the responses to both ques- Barman, C. R. (1999). Completing the
study: High school students’ views
to thoroughly digest the material tions were positive, with 39% of
of scientists and science. Science and
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(9%) of the comments complained shop met their expectations, and
Bailey, C. A., (2004). Studio chemistry
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Bailey, C. A., et al. (2005a). Solid state
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modeling. In Chemistry 124 online
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laboratory manual. San Luis Obispo,
and the different levels at which they which ones. About 26% commented
CA: California Polytechnic State
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University. Retrieved from http://
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chemweb.calpoly.edu/chem/124/
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Bailey, C.A., et al. (2005b).
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Conductivity. In Chemistry 124 online
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CA: California Polytechnic State
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Bodner, G. M. (1991). I have found you
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Fall 2010 Vol. 19, no. 2 53
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54 Science educator
Tosiani, T. (2009). Silly putty – Goop, the Department of Chemistry and
Author 2 is a Lecturer of Chemistry,
GAK, gluep. In Chemistry experi- Biochemistry at Cal Poly SLO for use of
Department of Chemistry and
ments, projects and demonstrations laboratory facilities and the Studio class-
Biochemistry, California Polytechnic
you can do at home. Retrieved from room, and the Materials Engineering
State University, San Luis Obispo,
http://homexperiment.com//silly- Department for use of the MATE 215
California, 93407.
putti.html laboratory. We also gratefully acknowl-
Wynne, R., Johnson, M., & Anderson, Author 3 is the Department Chair, edge Seth Bush for his preparation of the
S. L. (1997). Crystals up close. In Department of Liberal Studies, figures in this paper. Lastly, we thank the
Experiencing chemistry. Portland, California Polytechnic State University, Long Beach Unified School District for
OR: Oregon Museum of Science and San Luis Obispo, California, 93407. providing matching funds for their teach-
ers, and we further acknowledge fund-
Technology.
Acknowledgments: The authors grate- ing from the University of California
Vaidya, S.R. (1993). Restructuring ele- fully acknowledge the collaboration Office of the President via the California
mentary and middle school science with Dr. Dave Neibuhr and Mr. Tim Science Project.
for improved teaching and learning. Orling and their work with teachers in
Education, 114, 63-70. the MATE 215 lab in 2005. That experi- The work described in this paper was
ence was invaluable for the teachers and made possible by California Science
Author 1 is an Associate Professor of authors. The authors sincerely appreci- Project funding from the University of
Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and ate and thank the teacher participants for California Office of the President. The
Biochemistry, California Polytechnic their input, comments, and enthusiastic Long Beach Unified School District
State University, San Luis Obispo, participation in these workshops. We also provided matching funds for their
California, 93407. Correspondence thank our technical staff members Paul teachers.
concerning this article may be sent to Shires and Shelley Zoff for their assis-
[email protected]. tance and patience. We acknowledge
Fall 2010 Vol. 19, no. 2 55