Thursday, October 18 , 2007 ~ 9:00 AM and 10:00 AM ~ Register here.

OBJECTIVES
Students will:

• define the prefix “nano” as it applies to the real world and the scientific field of NANOTECHNOLOGY
• compare relative sizes to gain a tangible understanding of the size of a nanometer.
• think about the world on the scale of the nanometer using movies such as “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” or “Incredible Voyage” as a springboard for discussion

• explore current applications of nanotechnology in various industries, including medicine, space development, environmental protection, and defense

VOCABULARY
nanoscale, analyst, nanometer, fiscal, ambitious, deployment, futuristic, propulsion, substantially, catalyst, unobtrusive, surveillance, neutralize, contaminants, matrix, warily;

Academic Content National Standards:
This lesson plan may be used to address the following academic standards. These standards are drawn from Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education: 2nd Edition.

Technology Standard 3-
Understands the relationships among science, technology, society, and the individual. Benchmarks: Knows that scientific inquiry and technological design have similarities and differences; Knows that science cannot answer all questions and technology cannot solve all human problems or meet all human needs; Knows that technology and science are reciprocal; Knows ways in which technology and society influence one another

World History Standard 44- Understands the search for community, stability, and peace in an interdependent world.
Benchmarks: Understands influences on economic development around the world; Understands in stances of political conflict and terrorism in modern society; Understands the emergence of a global culture

Geography Standard 13- Understands the forces of cooperation and conflict that shape the divisions of Earth's surface.
Benchmarks: Understands factors that contribute to cooperation or conflict; Knows the social, political, and economic divisions on Earth's surface at the local, state, national, and international levels; Understands the factors that affect the cohesiveness and integration of countries

Language Arts Standard 1- Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies of the writing process.
Benchmarks: Uses style and structure appropriate for specific audiences and purposes; Writes persuasive compositions; Writes in response to literature

Language Arts Standard 8- Demonstrates competence in speaking and listening as tools for learning.
Benchmarks: Plays a variety of roles in group discussions; Asks questions to seek elaboration and clarification of ideas; Listens in order to understand a speaker's topic, purpose, and perspective; Conveys a clear main point when speaking to others and stays on the topic being discussed

Grades 9-12
Technology Standard 3- Understands the relationships among science, technology, society, and the individual.
Benchmarks: Knows that science and technology are pursued for different purposes; Knows ways in which social and economic forces influence which technologies will be developed and used; Knows that alternatives, risks, costs, and benefits must be considered when deciding on proposals to introduce new technologies or to curtail existing ones; Knows examples of advanced and emerging technologies; Identifies the role of technology in a variety of careers

World History Standard 44- Understands the search for community, stability, and peace in an interdependent world.
Benchmarks: Understands rates of economic development and the emergence of different economic systems around the globe; Understands the role of political ideology, religion, and ethnicity in shaping modern governments; Understands the role of ethnicity, cultural identity, and religious beliefs in shaping economic and political conflicts across the globe; Understands the effectiveness of United Nations programs

Geography Standard 13- Understands the forces of cooperation and conflict that shape the divisions of Earth's surface.
Benchmarks: Understands how cooperation and/or conflict can lead to the allocation of control of Earth's surface; Knows the causes of boundary conflicts and internal disputes between culture groups; Understands the changes that occur in the extent and organization of social, political, and economic entities on Earth's surface

Language Arts Standard 1- Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies of the writing process.
Benchmarks: Writes compositions that fulfill different purposes; Writes persuasive compositions that evaluate, interpret, and speculate about problems/solutions and causes and effects; Writes reflective compositions; Writes in response to literature

Language Arts Standard 8- Demonstrates competence in speaking and listening as tools for learning.
Benchmarks: Asks questions as a way to broaden and enrich classroom discussions; Adjusts message wording and delivery to particular audiences and for particular purposes

PRE-ACTIVITIES
1) Ask students to think of four objects that can only be seen using a
microscope. . . .four objects that are too small  to be seen with the naked eye.
(Examples may include: a cell, organelles, microorganisms, a virus, atoms, molecules, components of gases in the atmosphere (you can feel the wind, but you cannot see it…)

2) Discuss with the students how small a micrometer is and what the size of relatively common objects are in micrometers.  A human hair is approximately 100 micrometers in width.  In the microscopic world, a red blood cell is approximately 10 micrometers, and an average bacterium is about 1 micron in width.  Some features in a computer chip are less than 1/10 of a micrometer or about 1/1000th the width of your hair.  A nanometer is 10-9 (a billionth) of a meter.  

3) Refer to movies “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” or “Incredible Voyage” and discuss the significance of the events in these movies in terms of nanoscience.

4) Ask students to speculate on the idea that if these movies were real, what changes would have had to occur in order for the “kids” and the “scientists” to be reduced to microscopic size and remain whole and functional. [This could lead to an interesting discussion about arrangements and rearrangements of molecules to reduce the size of both animate and inanimate objects. It would also serve as an excellent way of introducing a discussion as to how nanoscience and nanotechnology can be applied to research and medicine.]
5) Ask students to discuss: How would scientists and manufacturers building machines at this scale move objects so small?  (Teacher may suggest laser lights, magnets and chemical processes that shape molecules and atoms.)

CLASS DISCUSSION:

What is nanotechnology?

Think small, really, really small. Imagine the smallest thing that you can see and then imagine that we can make things that are 1/1000 that size.  Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter at a scale of 1 to 100 nanometers. Using nanotechnology scientists can control molecules at an atomic level and create materials with unique properties. Nanotechnology is being used to make every day things like clothing, sports equipment and medical devices better.  For example, carbon nanotubes, thin tubes made of carbon that are 1/50,000 the width of a hair, are being used to make tennis rackets that are very strong.

Why does nanotechnology generate worldwide excitement?

Working at the nanoscale, scientists are creating new tools, products, and technologies to address some of the world’s biggest challenges, to improve lives, and to contribute to worldwide economic growth. 

These include:

• clean, affordable energy
• stronger, lighter, more durable materials
• low-cost filters to provide clean drinking water
• medical devices and drugs to detect and treat diseases more effectively with fewer side effects
• lighting that uses only a fraction of energy
• sensors to detect and identify harmful chemical and biological agents
• techniques to clean up hazardous chemicals in the environment

How big is a nanometer?

Nano means “billionth”.  A nanometer is a billionth of a meter.  As a reference point, a hair is approximately 100,000 nanometers.  A red blood cell is approximately 10,000 nanometers. 

Why is nanotechnology so important?

Changes made at the atomic level create significant changes in the physical, chemical, biological, mechanical, and/or electrical properties of individual elements.
So the properties of materials can be changed by nanotechnology.  We can arrange molecules in a way that they do not normally occur in nature.  The material strength, electronic and optical properties of materials can all be altered using nanotechnology.
There is a big interest and a driving effort from all sectors of industry towards the development of technology based on the nanoscale. As an enabling technology, nanotechnology is expected to have an impact on a wide range of applications in industry including materials and manufacturing, nanoelectronics and computing, health and medicine (including biopharmaceuticals), environment and energy, automotive, national security, and aeronautics and space exploration.

As systems become tinier, they behave in ways that are fundamentally different from those made on a macroscopic scale. Because of this great difference, nanotechnology presents new opportunities and possibilities.

Imagine what could be done with machines as small as those inside a living cell, whose components consist of individual molecules and are measured. a challenge to visualize and manipulate structures too small to be seen with visible light. useful in applications such as quantum computing, it also represents a significant challenge to engineering efforts on the nanometer scale.

We should expect significant changes in specific fields where nanotech products can make a big difference, such as medical diagnostics, computer and display technology. However, new molecular technologies might revolutionize some areas of medicine, lead to new materials (such as ceramics produced at low temperatures), and have impacts on the processing of food and textiles. The smaller the technology gets, the more "invisible magic" will surround us in our daily life.

Come join Sandra  Rosenthal in this videoconference and learn about emerging consumer products that take advantage of these possibilities, and what we can expect to see on the market in the near future.

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For more information about Rosenthal and her team’s quantum dot discovery, visit www.vanderbilt.edu/exploration/stories/breakthrough.html.

POST-ACTIVITIES:
1) Students will research at Nanotechnology Now's "Current Nanotechnology Applications" ( http://nanotech-now.com/current-uses.htm). Individually, students will write a summary of one nanotechnology application they researched and briefly speculate on how this technology, or similar products and applications, might be used to advance one of the following fields: medicine, space exploration, environmental protection, or defense.
2) Students will explore the Web presentation "Understanding Nanodevices" by the National Cancer Institute ( ttp://press2.nci.nih.gov/sciencebehind/nanotech/nano01.htm), then write an article describing how these devices can be used to diagnose and treat patients.

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

1) NanoTechnology Magazine (http://nanozine.com/WHATNANO.HTM) offers an introduction to nanometer-level technology.

2) Students can explore some of the career opportunities in nanotechnology fields at the Foresight Institute  http://www.foresight.org/News/JobsInNanotech.html or at Zyvex Students will choose a job that interests them and write a career plan describing what would be required to become a successful applicant for this position.

 

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