Potential Misconceptions
Students will likely have some misconceptions about various aspects of nanoscience. One obvious area is the change of properties as scale changes. We typically think of gold, for example, being gold and behaving the same way all the time. Physical properties are typically taught as being fixed by identity. This is simply not the case. A way to address this in the sense of a model is to perform an experiment with surface area to volume ratios. Students see how either rate of solvation or rate of reaction changes, which models the change in properties at the nanoscale with a focus on why it occurs (the change in the SA/V ratio).
Another misconception deals with how nanomaterials are manufactured. We typically think of building things from an assembly line point of view where someone is there all along the way putting pieces in place and attaching them (as in building a car). A student challenged with the idea people cannot actually assemble structures at that level because they are too small might respond with the idea that robots could do all of the work. This, however, is still not self assembly. Putting all of the parts in a room together and then stepping back--the parts assemble themselves with no further interaction from a person or robot (save for potentially modifying the envirionment) is self-assembly. One way to help address misconceptions about self-assembly could be to make use of the Self-Assembly activity on the Molecular Workbench. The relevant activity, titled “Molecular Self Assembly,” can be found from the homepage by clicking on “Browse all activities…” then scrolling down to the Biology section. This activity is already written and provides several opportunities for students to see how self-assembly works and then try it on their own.
Reference:
The Concord Consortium (2013). Molecular Workbench. Retrieved June 17, 2014, from http://mw.concord.org/modeler/
Another misconception deals with how nanomaterials are manufactured. We typically think of building things from an assembly line point of view where someone is there all along the way putting pieces in place and attaching them (as in building a car). A student challenged with the idea people cannot actually assemble structures at that level because they are too small might respond with the idea that robots could do all of the work. This, however, is still not self assembly. Putting all of the parts in a room together and then stepping back--the parts assemble themselves with no further interaction from a person or robot (save for potentially modifying the envirionment) is self-assembly. One way to help address misconceptions about self-assembly could be to make use of the Self-Assembly activity on the Molecular Workbench. The relevant activity, titled “Molecular Self Assembly,” can be found from the homepage by clicking on “Browse all activities…” then scrolling down to the Biology section. This activity is already written and provides several opportunities for students to see how self-assembly works and then try it on their own.
Reference:
The Concord Consortium (2013). Molecular Workbench. Retrieved June 17, 2014, from http://mw.concord.org/modeler/