In this lesson plan, students will be given several similar looking materials and asked to identify them by observing them at the macro and micro-scale. They will then be exposed to different analytical tools and describe how they can be used to explore materials at the nanoscale. A unique component of the lesson plan is to access RTNN facilities at Duke, NC State, or UNC (remotely or by field trip (trip for NC schools)) to collect/analyze data with tools described in the lesson. To bring this technology into your classroom, contact RTNN at rtnanonetwork@ncsu.edu. Similar equipment can be accessed through the Remote Access Instrumentation for Nanotechnology (RAIN) network (http://nano4me.org/remoteaccess) or check with your local research university.

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Maude Cuchiara (North Carolina State University) and the Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network

Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network NSF # ECCS 1542015

National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure NSF # ECCS 1626183

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Maude Cuchiara, NNCI Nano (2020), "Mystery Molecules: Identifying Materials with Nanoscale Characterization Tools," https://nanohub.org/resources/32847.

  BibTex | EndNote

1. characterization
2. chemical analysis
3. chemistry
4. general tools
5. high school
6. K-12
7. material properties
8. materials science
9. Molecules
10. NNCI Educational Materials
11. physical science
12. Remote Access Instrumentation for Nanotechnology (RAIN)
13. remote instruments
14. scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
15. Spectroscopy
16. x-ray diffraction
17. X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS)
18. x-ray spectroscopy