Exploring Size - Scented Solutions (NanoDays 2008)

Overview

Rae Ostman [4]

Description:

"Exploring Size - Scented Solutions" is a hands on activity illustrating how small nano is. By sniffing a series of diluted scent solutions, visitors discover that nano-sized particles may be too small to see, but they're not too small to smell!

Objectives

Big Idea:

Nanoscale science focuses on things that are too small to see, including atoms and molecules.

Learning goals:

A nanometer is a billionth of a meter.

NISE Net Content Map:

Nanometer-sized things are very small, and often behave differently than larger things do.

Universal design:

Provide physical and sensory access to all aspects of the program. Visitors can touch, see and hear different elements of the program.

Credits

Developed for the NISE Network with funding from the National Science Foundation under Award Numbers 0532536 and 0940143. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this product are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.

Checklist

Scientist reviewed? check_reviewed

Peer reviewed? check_reviewed

Visitor evaluation? check_reviewed

Nano Topics

Fundamentals [6]

Audience

All ages [7]

Permissions

[17]
Creative Commons
Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike

Catalog section:

Programs

What kind of program?:

Facilitated activity

Nano topics:

Fundamentals

Audience:

All ages

Content keywords:

solutions

exploring measurement

measurement

nanodays

scent

scale

size

Highlight this product during NanoDays?:

This is a NanoDays product.

K-12:

Standards

Science and Technology:

K-4: Abilities of technological design

Physical science:

K-4: Properties of objects and materials

5-8: Properties and changes of properties in matter

9-12: Structure and properties of matter

Science as inquiry:

K-4: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry

5-8: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry

Resources

Spanish

[3]

Download all files (ZIP) [3]

Files:

Exploring Size Scented Solutions - Guide [18]

Exploring Size Scented Solutions - Guide [19]

Exploring Size Scented Solutions - Sign [20]

Exploring Size Scented Solutions - Sources [21]

Exploring Size Scented Solutions - BottleLabel [22]

Spanish files:

Exploring Size Scented Solutions - Sign & Guide (Spanish) [23]

Exploring Size Scented Solutions - Guide (Spanish) [24]

Evaluations

Comments

We vastly simplified this [25]

Submitted by kgorga [26] on Thu, 09/11/2008 - 08:44.

We vastly simplified this experiment for our NanoDays. Instead of six bottles, we just had two bottles of clear liquids - one with a smell and one without (we used artificial perfume scents, but I imagine an extract of some sort would work as well). We told guests that one bottle contained a nanoparticle that was not present in the other and asked them to determine which was which. When the guests could not tell with their eyes, we told them that nano-sizes are too small to see, but that another one of their senses might help. After they were able to detect the difference in odor, we told them that smell detectors are on the same scale as the smell particles, but eyesight only works on a larger scale. We then extrapolated this concept out to say that scientists dealing with nanotechnology also have to use specialized tools that work on such a small scale.

Exploring Size - Scented Solutions (NanoDays 2008)

Exploring Size - Scented Solutions (NanoDays 2008)

Description:

Big Idea:

Learning goals:

NISE Net Content Map:

Universal design:

Checklist

Nano Topics

Audience

Tags

Permissions

Catalog section:

What kind of program?:

Nano topics:

Audience:

Content keywords:

Highlight this product during NanoDays?:

K-12:

Science and Technology:

Physical science:

Science as inquiry:

Download all files (ZIP) [3]

Files:

Spanish files:

We vastly simplified this [25]